Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts
by rdg2000
Summary: Synopsis:  This is a failed attempt at a 2014 NaNoWriMo entry. The history of Harry's early life took control of this story and came to a crashing end as Harry and Hermione get on the Hogwarts Express. Full summary in Chap. 1
1. Chapter 1 – You're a Wizard Harry

Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts

Synopsis: This is a failed attempt at a 2014 NaNoWriMo entry, as a result there was no outline when it was written and was written pretty much on the fly. I will go back and try to make it more consistent, but will keep the general theme and direction of the story.

The original concept of this story was to show an alternate history for the fourth year with just the first few chapters showing the type of life Harry had been living in for the last nine and a half years. However, this is where the story failed. The history of Harry's early life took control of this story and came to a crashing end as Harry and Hermione get on the Hogwarts Express.

This will be a smart / powerful Harry Potter. It starts out showing how abused he was in his early life and how with the help of the Goblins and Greek Diem-goddess he starts to overcome his poor life.

If you don't like a powerful / 'I'm related to everyone important' type of story, please don't read.

If you want to review, fine, if not, fine. I'm writing this for me, not you.

Author Notes 2: This is a work of Fan Fiction. No copyright infringement is intended. Most of the items in this story belong to J. K. Rowling et al. This will be an Alternate Universe (AU) story – it has to be if it does not always match with cannon. Some of the people in the story will act Out-of-Character (OC). This notice will be for all chapters.

Chapter 1 – You're a Wizard Harry.

Harry Potter was an unloved, abused boy who lived in the cupboard under the stairs for the better part of ten years in the Dursley's home at Number 4 Privet Drive in Surrey.

From the night he had been left on their doorstep he had been hated, belittled, and punished. It really was somewhat of a miracle that he was still alive. The Dursley's never called him by his proper name. To them he was always 'freak' or 'boy'. It wasn't until they were forced to take him to school that he found out his name was really 'Harry'.

Dudley Dursley made sure Harry was picked on at school. Year after year he made sure no one ever got close to Harry or talk to him. He took it upon himself to make sure he and his gang of friends would beat Harry up every chance they got. It was during one of these sessions of 'Harry hunting' that they almost went too far.

Dudley and his gang were busy chasing Harry all around the school as usual during the noon recess. They had recently added a mousy little boy name Piers Polkiss to their gang. He was one of the few children in the school that was as fast as Harry. It was his job to keep an eye on him and let the bigger students know where he was at so they could beat him up.

This day, Harry found himself trapped by the garbage bins behind the lunch kitchen. "We've got you now boy!" Piers yelled out, "Come on Big 'D' let's teach that little shrimp of a cousin of yours a thing or two."

Harry felt a sense of panic and dread, since he knew his cousin was still mad at him for getting a better score on their first test of the first year they had gone to school, and still held it against him. Even his aunt and uncle would 'punish' him for any excuse. Dudley felt he still needed to teach the 'freak' a lesson. Yes, Harry was sure if Dudley got his hands on him, he would not fair very well from the beating he would get.

Wishing with all his might, Harry focused on the roof of the school. 'They wouldn't be able to get me there.' he thought to himself.

Just as he heard Dudley and the other boys come around the corner of the building, Harry closed his eyes hoping for some way to escape his cousin. What he felt next, however, was the thick; man-child size fingers of his cousin grabbing his shirt, yanking him away from his hiding place.

* * *

The beating Harry received that day was worse than anything his uncle or aunt had ever given him. Young children just don't know how much damage they can do with a kick to the stomach, or by stomping on someone's arms, legs or face. The last thing he heard before he blacked out was Dudley leaning down and saying "If you ever tell anyone who did this to you, you won't live to see another day." The coldness in his cousin's voice told him that he wasn't kidding. If Harry told anyone who had done this to him – he would die at the hands of his cousin.

The school officials and teachers were somewhat appalled on finding the little Potter child outside behind the kitchen later that day when he didn't return to class. The local Constable was called along with Emergency Services. The body of the broken little boy was taken to The Royal Surrey County Hospital where he went through several surgeries to set the breaks in his arms and legs, the cracks in his ribs, and the facial damage to one of his eye sockets. When the local Constable came to talk to Harry, he said nothing. Nothing at all.

From that day on, Harry was mute. He didn't want there to be any chance that he said anything that would let Dudley kill him.

All that changed a few weeks before his Eleventh birthday.

He had just finished setting the food on the table for the Dursley's lunch when they all heard the mail flap in the door open and close.

"Go get the mail boy!" Vernon spat out as he put another piece of roast in his mouth, and the juices dripped down his three chins.

Without saying a word, Harry mechanically left the stove where he was cleaning up and went to the front door to collect the mail.

'Bill, bill, advert, letter from Aunt Marge from Majorca, letter to me... what?'

Harry slowly set the other mail down and opened the letter written on the funny thick parchment.

To: Harry Potter

Cupboard under the Stairs

Little Whining, Surrey

After opening the letter he found:

HOGWARTS SCHOOL OF

WITCHCRAFT AND WIZARDRY

 **Headmaster Albus Dumbledore**

(Order of Merlin, First Class, Grand Sorc. Chf. Warlock, Supreme

Mugwamp, International Confed. Of Wizards)

Dear Mr Potter,

We are pleased to inform you that you have a place at

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find

enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on 1 September. We await your owl by no later

than 31 July.

Yours sincerely,

 **Minerva McGonagall**

 **Deputy Headmistress**

"Boy! Where's that mail? We haven't got all day you know."

Harry looked up from his letter and realized that they knew. At lease his aunt and uncle had known from the first day he came here. Hiding his Hogwarts' letter in his cousin's worn, oversized shirt, he quickly picked up the rest of the mail and walked into the kitchen, and set the rest of the mail in front of Vernon.

Passing on through the kitchen, he was able to pick up a stub of a pencil and a scrap of paper and headed out the back door.

"That's right boy, go and weed the garden, and then come back in here to clean up this mess after your betters have had a chance to eat." His aunt Petunia stated, glaring at Harry as he headed outside.

Sitting in the garden, he took out the paper and pencil and wrote a quick note in his sloppy script.

Dear Deputy Headmistress McGonagall,

Is this a joke?

I have never heard of Hogwarts and according to my aunt and uncle, there is no such thing as magic.

I don't know how I'm to get this letter to you. I don't have an owl – don't they normally just come out at night?

If this is not a joke, I'm sure I'll need some help convincing my aunt and uncle that I can go to Hogwarts. Will you help me?

I hope you get this letter and that I see you soon.

Respectfully,

Harry

Cupboard under the Stairs

Little Whining, Surrey

He finished the letter and looked around to see if there were any owls to be seen. To his surprise, sitting in one of the trees in the backyard was a small brown owl looking at him with wide yellow eyes. 'Will you take this letter to Deputy Headmistress McGonagall?' he thought to himself. Surprisingly, the owl flew off its branch and grabbed the note out of Harry's hand in its mouth and flew away.

'Probably thought I had a piece of meat in my hand. Well, we'll see if this is a joke or not.' Harry spent the next hour or so pulling weeds from the garden, his Hogwarts letter stored safely in the over-sized shirt of his cousin Dudley.

End of chapter 1


	2. Chapter 2 – Kimchi hits the fan

Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts

Chapter 2 – Kimchi hits the fan

Minerva McGonagall had been teaching at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry for the last forty years. The last fifteen of those years had been as Deputy Headmistress of the school. During that time she thought she had seen everything. Between the Marauders, the Weasley twins and the stream of 'blood purest' that had come through, she thought nothing could get her excited – or mad, until she opened the last acceptance letter of the day on a scrap of mundane notebook paper.

As she read the note, the blood from her face drained in shock. And then she got mad.

It's not good to get Minerva McGonagall of the clan McGonagall mad.

She stormed out of her office heading to the person who was responsible for this situation.

Not waiting to be invited in, she burst through the Headmaster's door waving a piece of paper in her hand.

"Didn't I tell you they were the worst type of mundane Albus? Didn't I tell you there would be no love in that home for him? Just look at this letter! He thinks his acceptance letter is a joke! They haven't told him anything about our world! His aunt and uncle say there is no such thing as magic! Really Albus, just what were you thinking when you placed young Harry Potter with those beast?"

Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore looked up from desk to see an irate Deputy in front of him.

"Really what are you talking about Minerva? I just received a letter from Mrs Figg stating that young Harry was fine, working out in the backyard

"I don't care what your local spy says. I'm going to go and have a talk with his uncle and aunt and get Harry out of there as quickly as I can."

"Now, Minerva, you know you can't do that. Harry needs to stay there for is protection. And besides, your time is much too valuable to spend taking Harry to get his supplies. I'll send Hagrid to get him and taking to Diagon Alley in the morning."

"You will do no such thing Albus! I will be going to those Dursleys in the morning and take Harry and that new mundane-born witch to Diagon Alley. It had been too long since someone has set eyes on young Mr Potter and I demand to know exactly what is going on with the young man!"

Albus knew he could not talk his Deputy Headmistress out of taking this course of action and so decided to let her go and see just how wrong she was concerning Mr Potter's health.

The next day, July 1st, Minerva left Hogwarts so she would be at the Dursleys at about 9:00 in the morning. She was sure that would give her plenty of time to talk to Harry and get a good look at the way things were there and still have time to get to the Granger's to take them all to Diagon Alley.

Arriving at Number 4 Privet Drive, she was somewhat shocked to see a young boy in the front yard with a hand-pushed lawn mower who could be no more than seven or eight years old.

"Excuse me young man." She said in her kindest voice. "I'm looking for the Dursleys at Number 4 Privet Drive. Could you please tell me where they might be?"

Without saying a word, the young man simply stopped mowing for a moment and pointed to the door of the house she was in front of.

"Are you saying this is Number 4 Privet Drive?"

Again the young man just looked at her and shook his head 'Yes'.

"Thank you my dear boy." Minerva said again with a smile on her face. That smile soon faded as she looked at the young boy who continue to mow the lawn with a contraption that was larger than he was.

She was also somewhat concerned about the young boy she had just seen. He had the most haunting green eyes, and that messy dark hair. If it weren't for the bandana that held the sweat out of his eyes, she would have sworn she was looking at a very young James Potter. 'But that just can't be. Harry is about to turned eleven and should be ready to be starting Hogwarts this year. That young boy must be a younger child of Vernon and Petunia.

Noticing that there were no cars in the driveway, Minerva thought that Vernon must already be at work. Good, that should give her a little time to have some girl talk with Petunia and catch up on how Harry was doing.

After knocking on the door for the third time, she heard some movement from inside, but whoever it was didn't sound too happy about being disturbed from whatever they were doing. When the door opened, a short fat boy stood there looking much put out that this person had disturbed him. "Ya, what do you want?" He asked coldly.

"I'm looking from Petunia Dursley nee Evans of Number 4 Privet Drive. Would she happen to be home at present?" Minerva asked as kindly as she could.

Without another thought the fat, little boy opened the door wider and yelled into the house, "MUM! Some old hag is looking for you!" He then continued into the house to resume his game he had hooked up to the television in the family room.

Minerva was a bit taken back by the child's action, but decided to come into the house and wait for a few moments any way. After a few moments she saw Petunia coming out of the kitchen still with a telephone receiver in her hand. Since Minerva was standing in the doorway with the light at her back, Petunia couldn't see her face clearly.

"Oh, that little scamp my Dinky Duddydums. Just give me a moment and I'll be right with you." Petunia went back to the phone to finish the gossip she was talking about before hanging up and coming to see who was standing in the doorway.

"Now, what can I help you with...? YOU! What are you doing here? I haven't seen you since you came to talk my sister into going to that freak school of yours. Well, it won't happen again. Dudley will go to Smelting just like his father and be all the better for it!"

"I'm not coming for Dudley Petunia; I'm here to take Harry to Diagon Alley to get his supplies for Hogwarts that will be starting on the 1st of September. Now if you would be so good as to call him for me?"

"I can't, I mean you can't take him! We've beaten all the magic out of him. He hasn't showed one bit of magic all the time he's been here... Well, except for his freakish hair. It seems to just grow right back whenever I cut it.

"But you just can't take him! I need him to do my house work, and cook our food and clean our clothes and..."

"YOU MEAN TO TELL ME THAT THAT LITTLE SLIP OF A BOY OUT THERE MOWING YOUR LAWN IS HARRY POTTER!"

For the first time during the conversation, Petunia started to get worried. "Well, of course it is. I mean, you are the ones that dropped him off on our front doorstep without so much as a 'by your leave' and you expect us to take care of him? He's just another freak like his mother. What did you expect us to do with him? We couldn't let his unnaturalness harm our little Diddy now could we?"

Minerva got a sinking feeling in her stomach when she thought of how Harry had signed his letter.

"Petunia, you will show me Harry Potter's bedroom right now!

"NO! You can't just come in here and demand that of us. You only need to know we put a roof over his head, food in his belly, and clothes on his back.

In less than a moment Minerva had her wand out, and Petunia was being force to show her where Harry had called 'home' for the last nine and a half years. To say she was shocked would have been a gross understatement. Compared to the rest of the spotless house, Harry's cupboard was a disaster area. Locked from the outside, the cupboard smelled of human waste. The walls were unpainted except for one spot where it read 'Hari's room'. What it was written in, she didn't even want to guess. The floor was bare except for a thin mat and what looked like a baby's receiving blanket for bedding. A single 15 watt bulb lit the space with the switch on the outside – of course.

"You made a human... You made your nephew live in that, that squealer! How could you! He's your blood! He's your family!"

"He's no family of mine! He just a freak like the rest of you! You come around here waving your little sticks, doing heaven know what unnaturalness, and you expect me to just except him! No! He's a freak! He's unnatural! He needs to have that unnaturalness beaten out of him whatever it take and we've done a pretty good job of it too if I do say so. We haven't had any ma… freakishness since he turned his teacher's hair blue four years ago.

"And he's an expense to rise too! He goes out and gets himself hurt three years ago and after coming home from the hospital hasn't said a word since! Do you know how expensive those specialists are? You know not everything is covered by the NHS you know (That was a lie)! The little bit of work we give him to do is how he can pay us back for being such a burden on us all!"

"Well, then your lucky day has come because I'm going to take that 'burden' away from you forever!"

"You can't! What would that old man say? He told us we would only be protected if that freak was here."

"You let me worry about what to tell Dumbledore. Right now he has more than a few things to answer for. Now, I'm going outside and getting Harry. We are coming back in here where he can take a shower and collect his things and we will be on our way."

It took all of Minerva's control not to turn Petunia and her son into farm animals just to keep them out of the way when she went out to get Harry and bring him inside. What made things even more difficult was that she couldn't get Harry to talk to her either. She finally had to show him the letter he sent to her and explained to him that she was here to help him get ready to go do some shopping so he could come to Hogwarts on September 1st.

She explained to Harry that she had to bring another student and her parents to Diagon Alley also so she could also buy her supplies for school. She explained that Harry would experience the three main forms of magical travel today: Apparition – being able to transport ones-self from place to place; Portkey – using an enchanted object to bring a person or group of people to a specific location; and the Floo Network – a method of using a person's fireplace to talk or travel.

From Privet Drive, they would apparate to a suburb of London to meet with the Granger's, and from there use a portkey to go to the Leaky Cauldron and Diagon Alley.

Harry really didn't know about leaving Privet Drive, after all, it was the only 'house' he knew. But he felt that just about any place would be better than where he was at now.

Upon arrival at the Granger's, he was face with a completely new experience. Here he found a young girl his own age (even if she was much larger then him) who seemed she could not stop moving or stop asking questions. The young girl, Hermione, was so excited to be a witch. She couldn't stop asking Professor McGonagall to show her more magic, and was always asking questions as to how this or that was done. Finally, with a firm hand on her shoulders from her parents, Drs Dan and Emma Granger, they got her to be quiet enough to stop moving to where they could all hold on to a piece of rope that would take them to the Leaky Cauldron.


	3. Chapter 3 – Welcome to Diagon Alley

Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts

Chapter 3 – Welcome to Diagon Alley

After hurrying through the Pub, they came to a wall in an alley. Watching as Professor McGonagall touched the brick in a pattern; the bricks of the wall began moving to form an arch leading into the magical world. Everyone else was wide-eyed and speechless as they walked through the arch into the street beyond.

"Welcome to Diagon Alley. The main magical shopping district for the witches and wizards in the London area." Before Hermione could ask any questions Professor McGonagall continued, "Yes, Miss Granger that means that there are other magical areas to shop, but most are very small. With the headquarters of our government located here in London, this is where the largest shopping area will be. And yes, Miss Granger this is true in most European countries, however, you must be careful in some of these areas. Not all wizarding people are welcoming to a mundane-born witch."

"Why not?" 

"That would take more time then we have today to answer. Now, let's go to Gringotts bank to exchange our funds so we can begin our shopping shall we."

While walking to the bank, Hermione brought up the 'elephant in the room'. "Professor McGonagall? Why doesn't Harry talk? Are you sure he's old enough to go to Hogwarts? He looks like he's about seven years old." Of course everyone, including Harry could hear what she was saying.

"I am afraid due to Mr Potter's life of late; he had been placed in a less then idea living environment. This has left him reluctant to communicate with others verbally. I'm sure we can resolve it in time, and yes, he is old enough to go to Hogwarts. I knew both of his parents and am looking forward to the contributions he makes in my class."

Harry looked up quickly at Professor McGonagall when she mentioned that she knew his parents. Could she tell him anything about the real James and Lily Potter? As if hearing his thoughts, she looked at him and responded, "Yes Harry, I'll be more than glad to tell you about your parents after we get through shopping today."

Entering the bank both Harry and the Grangers noticed the Goblin guards standing outside. They were simply the meanest, most frightening people / solders any of them had ever seen.

Upon coming to the main lobby of the bank, Professor McGonagall showed the Granger's where they needed to go to open a Gringotts account, or just exchange their money from pound sterling to wizarding currency.

At the current exchange rate, 5 pounds were equal to 1 Golden Galleon.

1 Golden Galleon equals 17 Silver Sickles

1 Silver Sickle equals 29 Brass Knuts (approx. 29.41 pence, but then the goblins don't deal with fractions of pence, so you lose that when you go and convert the money back.)

1 Brass Knut is about 1 pence.

Of course this does not include the 5 percent exchange fee for all non-goblin accounts.

While the Grangers were doing that, Professor McGonagall took Harry up to the counters waiting to be served. When it was their turn, the goblin teller spoke to them. "What do you need witch?"

Minerva McGonagall was not use to being spoken to in such a manner, but knew much of the bad blood between the magical community and the goblins was the way the magicals treated the goblin people, so she held her temper in check and replied in as normal a voice as she could. "Master teller Slimchance, I am here to help Mr Potter make a withdrawal from his trust account at Gringotts."

"And does Mr Potter have his key?"

"No, I have it with me here."

"And why does Mr Potter NOT have his own key?"

"Because his magical guardian is an arse, a thick headed fool and a manipulative old bastard!" She replied with just a bit of heat.

After the goblin heard this he smiled, showing his many sharp, yellowing teeth. "I see we have similar feeling with regards to the great Mugwump Professor McGonagall. Please, if you would present Mr Potter's key to him so he could hand it to me that would be most grateful. 

Professor McGonagall was somewhat shocked in the change in attitude of the goblin teller, but, nevertheless, she took the key out of her robe and handed it to Harry. At first, Harry just looked at the key. This was the first time someone had actually given him something that was his and his alone. After a few moments however, the goblin cleared his voice and asked "Do you wish to take some money out of your vault Mr Potter?"

Looking back up at the goblin, Harry just nodded his head 'yes' and handed the key up to the goblin. Seeing Harry's reaction, the goblin took a quick glance to Professor McGonagall. She knew exactly what he was asking about.

"I have just picked Mr Potter up this morning from the mundane our lustrous Headmaster sent him to after his parents were killed. I haven't had any time to talk to him about what happened there, but he hasn't said a word to anyone that I know of since I met him." 

"I see. I will make arrangements for one of our healers to look at Mr Potter upon his return from his vault. As a safety precaution, perhaps you should also attend Mr Potter to his vault?"

Nodding her head in acceptance, Professor McGonagall took Harry by the hand and head towards the vault tracks.

"Griphook, please take Mr Potter and Professor McGonagall to Mr Potter's vault?"

"It shall be done Master teller Slimchance." came the reply.

As Professor McGonagall and Harry approached the vault carts, the young, gray goblin with very little ear hair helped them into the cart. "Please keep your hands and head inside the cart at all times. There are some places where the clearance to the cart is very close."

Like a shot - the cart moved screaming down the track. Minerva's hands automatically went to keep a hold of her hat, where Harry's hands went straight over his head. He was so small that his hands didn't even come to the top of the Professor's head. Now Minerva remembered why she did all her transaction in the lobby.

Looking over at Harry, she could see the biggest smile on his face. His eyes were closed and it looked like this was the most enjoyable thing in the world for him. He began to lower his arms, but still held them out wide at shoulder level. "Please keep your hands inside the cart Mr Potter. If we have to reattach any limbs, the fees will be taken from your account." Being a little shocked at being caught with his hands outside the cart (well one of them anyway). Harry just brought his hands and arms in front of him, holding onto the seat in front of him were Griphook was sitting.

After ten minutes of twists and turns, going up and down and sometimes upside down as well, the little cart stopped in front of vault 687. Griphook immediately got out of the cart and asked Harry for the light in the cart and then his key. Harry had to climb into the front seat and out of the cart because Professor McGonagall was just too nervous to even move from her position.

Upon doing what was asked of him, Harry watched in amazement to see mounds of gold coins, columns of silver, and heaps of little brass coins.

Griphook took Harry by the arm and brought him into the vault to talk to him and give him some words of wisdom.

"You will find a standard Gringotts money bag on the inside of your vault Mr Potter. It will let you store up to 500 galleons at a time. It is connected to you, and only you. Should you lose it, it will reappear here in your vault. If someone takes it from you it will also reappear here in your vault before they are able to use any money. This of course means that you would have to find a way to get to Gringotts to retrieve your money bag. Something that may not be practical if you are at Hogwarts attending classes. So be very careful with it.

"You will also find a ledger you can take with you that will automatically update when there is any activity in this vault. As you can see the current balance for this vault is 10,000 galleons, 3,400 sickles, and 2,900 knuts. This vault is maintained to this value from your family's master vault on your birthday each year which will be in just a few weeks. At that time, this vault will be restored to its current value. If you take your ledger with you and study it, you may find you may have some questions for us. You will have to come back here after your 11th birthday to ask us about these things.

"Now, one more thing before we go; Never, NEVER, let anyone handle your key besides you or a member of your family. A person that has your key can do ANYTHING they want with the contents of your vault, and you will have no recourse against them. It is YOUR responsibility to keep the key safe.

"Now, you may wonder about your family's master vault. Yes, there is a key for it as well, and I'm sure Dumbledore has it also, but unlike most family vaults, yours has an additional safe guard around it that the person making the withdrawal from that vault must also provide a blood sample. If they are of Potter blood or lineage, they will be admitted into the vault. If they are not, they will be barred. I must tell you Mr Potter, after your parents were murdered, Headmaster Dumbledore brought you down here to your family's master vault and used your key and blood to open the vault door, but however, since he was not the one who supplied the blood to open the door he could not enter. Only you could, and if what was reported, you did. It took our good Headmaster some time to coax you back out.

"Be very careful with the headmaster Mr Potter. He is a very powerful man, but he has some views as to what is best for the magical world that would not help all creatures in that world. Be wary of him; never look him or other teachers at the school in the eyes. By doing that you may allow them to see your deepest thoughts and secrets. Do not let him know that you know even this much of his plans. I'm very sure he will have some way of making you forget that if he ever found out. Now hurry Mr Potter, we don't want to keep Professor McGonagall or your friends upstairs waiting now do we?"

Upon returning to the main bank lobby, Master tellers Slimchance approached the group and ask if Mr Potter could follow him to see some of their Goblin healers.

"I'm not sure we have time for that today Master teller Slimchance", Professor McGonagall started saying. "We are on quite a tight schedule and with both students needing to get their other supplies; I just don't know if we can take the time now."

Master teller Slimchance took Professor McGonagall few steps away from the rest of the group and puts up a privacy ward so they are not overheard by the others or someone else in the bank lobby.

"I must stress to you madam that this is very important not only to young Mr Potter, but to the wizarding and goblin worlds as well. I will ask the healers to only do an initial review, and if something else is needed, we will schedule another time for any procedures to be done then."

"Very well, but I must insist in being with Mr Potter during this examination."

"We at Gringotts have no problem with that as long as you are registered as the 'Loco Parentis' for Mr Potter. You will not be able to transfer this right _to anyone_ until he reaches his majority, or you become incapacitated in some way. This will give you the rights to act in the place of a parent in this matter and since he is a minor, we would be able to share anything we discover during the examination with you. However, anything you learn from this can only be discussed with Mr Potter, the healers and yourself. This includes NOT discussing anything with the Headmaster. If your Madam Pomfrey needs to be included in his treatment, she will also be required to sign a nondisclosure contract between her and the Goblin Nation."

"Master teller Slimchance! That seems to be a bit much! I'm sure if there is anything the matter with Mr Potter, our Madam Pomfrey will be able to take care of it just fine"

"If something's wrong? If something's wrong! Madam have you looked at Mr Potter today? Just looking at him you can tell he has been severely malnourished! The fact that no one has heard he talk in the time he has been with you also tells of physical and / or mental abuse. The Potters have always been a friend to the Goblin Nation due to their fair treatment and dealing with ALL people in the magical world. We here at Gringotts feel that it is our duty and responsibility to see that the last heir of such a great and noble house should be properly cared for. It is most clear that your dear Headmaster Dumbledore has no desire for that to come to pass in Mr Potter's place. Now if you want to come with Mr Potter's examination, please sign these forms. If not, please find a seat in the lobby and wait. I will have Mr Potter back to you in 30 minutes or less."

Being sufficiently chastened by Master teller Slimchance, Professor McGonagall signed the forms and asked the Grangers if they would be alright waiting a few minutes while the goblin healers looked Harry over. They thought it would be a great idea. It would give them more time to read the literature the goblins had given them regarding all the services that could be provided at Gringotts – for a fee of course.


	4. Chapter 4 – What do the Doctors have to

Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts

Chapter 4 – What do the Doctors have to say?

While they did that, Minerva, Master teller Slimchance, and Harry all headed down one of the many paths in the Gringotts office until they entered a wing of the building that had the Rod of Asclepius over its main entrance. As they enter, they are met by three healers; each took one look at Harry and even while smiling, say almost in unison, "Oh, this will not do at all." The head healer took charge of the exam now and held out a surprisingly soft yet strong hand out to Harry.

"Mr Potter, my name is Epione. I am the head healer in for the Goblin Nation along with two of my daughters here, Panacea and Hygieia. We knew both of your parents and only want the best for you and your clan. Will you please come with us so we can have a closer look at you? We can tell there is something very wrong with you. Oh, it won't kill you, but we can make you bigger and stronger. Would you like that?"

All this time Harry had had a near death-grip on Professor McGonagall's hand and had been half hiding behind her. He looked up to her with an earnest question in his eyes. He saw her give the slightest of nods and took Epione's extended hand.

"We will need to bring you behind the curtains, but we will report back to you in just a few minutes."

Master teller Slimchance said "I will be waiting for you outside these doors." and left the room.

It wasn't all that long before Harry and the others were back around the curtain facing Professor McGonagall. "Here is the preliminary report we have on Mr Potter."

 **Patient** : Harry James Potter

 **Physical Age** : 10 years, 11 months, 1 day

 **Actual Age** : Mr Potter has the body of a 7 year old, but his bones and internal organs are those of a man of approximately 145 years old.

 **Preliminary diagnosis:** Mr Potter manifests many signs of abuse and malnutrition. This is evident by the quality of the bones and organs and how well they are functioning. Example: Mr Potter has had no less than 120 different accounts where his bones have been broken and not tended to. There is only one set of breaks that show any sign of mundane healing at all.

The internal organs show signs that the only way they were able to function is to take what little part of Mr Potter's magic that has not been sealed and convert it into the energy needed to keep him alive. This constant need of the organs using magic to keep Mr Potter alive has aged them prematurely. However if Mr Potter is to receive a proper diet and medical supplements, this damage should be able to be reversed.

There is also a soul fragment behind Mr Potter's scar that is drawing power from him.

 **Magical Potential and Reserves** : According to the standard 'Merlin Power Scale' (MPS) where the standard 11 year old male student entering Hogwarts is '100', Mr Potter scores a 103.

However it should be noted that there are signs of two power blocks that have been placed on Mr Potter. One is a parental block that blocked 50 percent of his power. The evidence shows that this block deteriorated until it was completely removed by the time he was 8 years old.

The second power block was placed on Mr Potter at the age of approximately 3 years old and was meant to be a permanent block. If not for Mr Potter's parental block deteriorating, it is conceivable that he would not have had the magic available to him to where he could have kept himself alive. The magical signature on this block belongs to one A. P. W. B. Dumbledore. We tested the strength of the block, and were able to remove one percent of it while examining it. In order to fix the remainder of this problem, Mr Potter would have to return to Gringotts and take advantage of some of the special chambers we have that would aid us in correcting this problem.

 **Blood Status** : In examining Mr Potter's blood we find that he should be considered a pure-blood. He shows magical inheritance from Potter, Evans, and Black blood, with evidence of other ancient blood-lines via the Potter and Evans line, meaning that Lily Evans was from a squib line and is not mundane-born as previously suspected. The presents of Black blood in Mr Potter's body would indicate a blood bonding or adoption of some type. It is recommended Mr. Potter go through a complete inheritance test as soon has his body has recovered from his malnourished.

 **Mind Health** : Mr Potter shows multiple signs of obliviation and other blocks on his memory, but none more recent than 3 years ago. This should so be taken care of soon as his magic and body has been completely healed.

 **Other issues:** Mr Potter has yet to communicate with us verbally; however he does seem to have the ability to project his thoughts to those closest to him. With a combination of his 'thought projection' and by looking into his eyes, it is quite simple to see what Mr. Potter wants. Because his thoughts are so close to the surface of his mind he is very prone to a Legitimacy attack, however, due to the 'noise' his thoughts also makes it is very difficult to get much information from him beyond those he is projecting out. When we asked Mr Potter about this, we were able to see a part of a beating he received from several people, including his cousin, Dudley Dursley. The implied threat was that if Mr Potter spoke of this to anyone, his cousin would kill him.

 **Conclusion:** Mr Potter has spent the last nine and a half or so years in a dwelling place that is worse than Azkaban. He has been systematically starved, beaten, abused both physically and mentally. If not for the little amount of magic that was available to Mr Potter he would have been killed or died before he came to us today.

 **Course of Action:** It is the recommendation of the Counsel of Healers at Gringotts, that Mr Potter be admitted to his medical facility immediately to address these medical issues. Now that Professor Minerva McGonagall has been assigned as 'Loco Parentis', it is her responsibility to see to the health and well fair of Mr Potter. If Mr Potter is expected to attend Hogwarts this year, his treatment must begin no later than 06-July-1991.

Upon reading the report from the healers, Professor McGonagall was more than a little shocked and upset. 'What was that man thinking putting Harry with those mundane all those years ago? Damn him to all the seven hells of Tartarus! I only have 5 days before he has to start his treatment if he's to go to Hogwarts this year. What should I do?'

"Healer Epione? Who will take care of the bill for Mr Potter's care? I'm sure it will be quite expensive to cure all that ills him now."

"Are you putting a price on the health of one of the most important people in the magical world Professor McGonagall? I would have thought better of you than that. But to answer your question, it is also in the goblins interest to see that Mr Potter is whole and healthy, therefore the Goblin Nation and the Potter family vault will split the cost of Mr Potters stay.

"Now one thing that needs to be made perfectly clear, Mr Potter WILL NOT be going back to those... animals! In fact the Director of the bank has been made aware of some of the less than pleasant things that have happened in the past to Mr Potter. He has indicated that an investigation will commence as to Mr Potter, his living conditions, and any activity that may have transpired while he was being treated in such an abusive manner." The healer's voice was cold enough to give you frost-bite if you didn't watch your hands and toes.

"I would like to take Mr Potter home with me for the evening to explain this to him and see if I can get his opinion on this. I know Professor Dumbledore will not be happy with his family situation. He has always told us that Harry would be safest with his aunt than any were else in the world."

"Well it is quite obvious that Professor Dumbledore's vaulted knowledge on this matter is less than all-knowing isn't it? I mean just look at the boy! He falls below the lower 5 percentile of the boys in his age group. He should be between 130 -155 cm (4ft 3in – 5ft 1in), but he's barely 120 cm (4ft).

"As far as weight goes, he's 18kg (40 lbs) soaking wet where he should be around 27 – 53kg (62 – 118 lbs). It will take years to overcome the effects of his home life. The sooner he gets started on the treatments, the better it will be for him."

"Very well, just let me talk to him tonight and I'll bring him back on the 3rd of July to start the treatment."

"Very well, I would suggest you put off getting his wand until he has more access to his core."

* * *

The rest of the day was spent getting their books and supplies in Diagon Alley – except for Harry's wand. Mr Ollivander was very put out that he could not place one of his wands with the great Harry Potter. He knew that Harry was destined for great things.

After seeing the Grangers home, Professor McGonagall took Harry by the hand and floo'd to her home in the Highlands of Scotland.

"I know the headmaster will be very put out with me for not returning to Hogwarts tonight, but we have some things to talk about Harry."

With that, Professor McGonagall introduced Harry to her house elf, Tilly. Harry was fascinated watching Tilly pop in and out of the room bringing a tea set, their dinner meals, and other things as she was asked to by Professor McGonagall.

Over the course of the evening, she told Harry about the report the goblin healers had given her and told him that as of today she was his guardian in both the mundane and magical world. She told him that this was very unusual since the Headmaster of Hogwarts was normally the 'Loco Parentis' for all mundane or mundane raised students in the school, but since the goblins were so emphatic that she sign the documents before they did the examination, as that would have been the only way she would have been apprised of the results of the exam.

She had tried to get him to speak to her as they discussed the exam results, but Harry remained quiet. When she asked him if he wanted to go back to Gringotts and be healed, he just looked up at her with puppy dog eyes projecting his thoughts a hard as he could 'Yes please'. It was a bit funny that Minerva actually had to tell Harry not to shout so loud, that she got the message loud and clear.

Minerva showed Harry where he was to sleep and that they would be spending a good part of the day tomorrow shopping for new clothes. She then called for Tilly to help unload all his school supplies and get his room organized before retiring to bed herself.

After Minerva had left, but before Tilly popped away, Harry spoke for the first time in over three years. "What are you?" His voice was very rough from the many years of disuse. The little elf jumped in surprise hearing the young master speak to her.

"I is Tilly master Harry." she said quietly.

"Yes, I know your name, but _what_ are you?" Harry asked again.

"I is being a house elf master Harry. Why does you ask?"

"Are you the one who fixed the meal tonight?"

"Yes."

"Did you clean up the table and do the dishes afterword?"

"Yes."

"Is it your job to keep the house and yard clean too?" 

"Yes master Harry, I does all those things and many more. I is a good house elf I is."

"So I've been a house elf all this time and didn't know it."

"What does you mean master Harry? You isn't a house elf. You's is a wizard. Wizards is better than house elves. Everybody knows that."

"Not everybody Tilly, I didn't. I didn't even know I was a wizard until Professor McGonagall took me to Diagon Alley today. Before that, I was the one who had to fix the meals and do the dishes, do the house cleaning not to mention all the chores outside like cutting the lawn and painting the fence and around the house trim. Do you get paid for the work you do? Do you get to eat?"

"Oh master Harry, houses elves not getting paid for their work. We does it for the joy of working, but we does get to eat all we want. Tilly knows of some house elves that are treated poorly by theirs masters. They's has to punish themselves if they's do something their masters don't like. I heard one elf; Dobby has to iron his hand if his young master tells him to."

"Why would he stay with a master like that? Why doesn't Dobby just leave if he's being treated so poorly?"

"Oh master Harry, house elves can't just leave masters house. We's needing their magic to stay alive. Only if old master gives a house elf clothes can the house elf leave, but if they's not finding a new master to bond with soon, they's be losing their magic and fading away. Once they is faded away, they's can't come back."

"Well at least you get fed. I'd be lucky to get a crust of bread or an apple core for a full day's work. Sometimes I would sneak some of the food while it was cooking, but if I got caught, I'd be punished." Harry's voice faded out thinking of some of the times his aunt would catch him tasting the soup or a sauce to see if it had enough spices, only to have the ladle taken from him and have him be attacked with it, on the hands, head, back, any place she could hit him with it until his uncle could come into the kitchen and take over the punishment with either his belt or the handle of a broom. Usually after getting that kind of beating, he would be thrown into the cupboard under the stairs and told he wouldn't be getting out until the morning. No food, no way to wash up or fix his bruises, no way to go to the bathroom, unless he had an old can he keep in case of emergencies. Most of the time though, he could hold it until morning.

"Do you like your mistress Professor McGonagall?"

"Oh yes! Mistress Minnie is one of the bestest mistress Tilly could ask for. She lets me does what I want in keeping the house and yard clean. And when she is in her miss kitty form we's have all kinds of fun running around the house and playing!"

"Miss kitty form?" Harry asked.

"Oh, maybe Tilly shouldn't be saying that to new young master!" Tilly was afraid she'd have to iron her hands now that she told him about that.

"Don't worry Tilly, I won't say anything, but what do you mean by 'miss kitty' form?"

"Oh some witches and wizards can changes their bodies into another form. Mistress Minnie can change into a cat. When she is a cat she can be very quiet and very sneaky."

"Can I change into a cat?" Harry had never thought about changing into any other type of animal. Maybe if he were a cat he could sneak around and get away from trouble if he had any.

"I's is not knowing little master. Mistress Minnie says it can be very bad if a witch or wizard tries to become an animal without proper training. Maybe when you is older you can ask her."

"That's a good idea, thanks for letting me know, I'll try to remember that." Harry wanted to get the topic back to just what a house elf was and how they did what they did.

"How about you Tilly? Can you change into another animal? Do you have any other special talents that a young wizard like me can't do?"

"No, I's can't turn into an animal, but I's can go invisible and be very quick, still do magic and be very, very quiet." She showed Harry what she meant as she went invisible, and then went around the room putting the rest of his clothes away, turning down his bed, and putting the room back in pristine condition, removing even the footprints on the carpet in less than 2 seconds and then appeared in front of Harry again.

"Wow!" was all Harry could say. "Could you teach me how to do that? Please?"

I doesn't know little master. You's is being too small to do much magic I's can feel it, but it is being held back by strong magic. Maybe if yous getting all of yours magic I's can teach you how to do work like a house elf. Is that alright master Harry?"

"That's perfect Tilly! Thank you."

With the conversation done, Harry finished getting ready for bed and told Tilly goodnight as she turned off the light in his room.


	5. Chapter 5: The next day 02-Jul-1991

Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts

Chapter 5: The next day 02-Jul-1991

Harry woke up late in the morning in a strange bed, in a strange room. At first he started to panic that his Aunt Petunia would be mad at him for over sleeping and not having their breakfast ready for them. Then he stopped and remembered about the strange lady that came to his house and took him away from the Dursleys. He remembered the small creature he met named 'Tilly' who said she was a 'house elf'. He remembered the older lady telling him that he was a wizard like his mother and father before him. All of this had Harry's head spinning.

Sitting up in his bed, he thought about calling for the house elf again.

"Tilly?" He asked. He still wasn't use to using his voice. In fact what he had spoken last night was the most he had said in over three years.

With a little 'pop' the strange little house elf appeared in his room. "Hows can I's be helping you master Harry?"

"Could you tell me where the bathroom is? I'd like to get cleaned up before I start my chores this morning."

"Oh master Harry, yous not be doing any chores this morning. Yous need to get ready so yous and mistress Minnie can go to the big city to get the rest of yours clothes and get ready to meet with the goblins again tomorrow.

"As to where the bathroom is, just goes down the hall and it's being the third door on your right. There are already fresh towels and clothes for yous to wear. After yous is finished in the shower and such, yous is to be following me to the kitchen where yous be getting a good breakfast and meeting with mistress Minnie. Yous be taking a good long shower. We's all want you to feel clean and refreshed as yous going out to get yours new clothes."

Harry was a bit shocked that he didn't have to do any chores here today. He always did chores. Being in somewhat of a state of shock, Harry followed Tilly down the hall to where she showed him a large water closet, complete with a tub, shower, loo, wash basin and stacks upon stack of clean, soft towels, hand towels and a clean set of clothes for him to wear when he was finished.

He had never taken so much time taking a shower. It seemed that the water was warm the instant he stepped into it. He took his time washing his body time and time again, like he was making up for all the showers he'd missed out on at Privet Drive. Eventually, after his fingers had 'pruned', he turned off the water and dried off in the softest towel he had ever felt. After finishing that, and trying to get his hair to lie flat, Harry opened the door to the bathroom to find Tilly there waiting to show him the way to the kitchen.

Upon reaching the kitchen, Harry found Professor McGonagall there with a cup of tea in front of her and a stack of acceptance letters she was working through.

"Ah, Mr Potter, how nice of you to join us this morning. I take it that everything was to your satisfaction last night and this morning?"

"Yes ma'am, it's more than I could ever ask for."

"That is good to hear. Now, what would you like for breakfast?"

"Just a piece of dry toast will be fine for me ma'am."

"A piece of dry toast! That most certainly will not be enough for you. Come here Mr Potter while Tilly gets you a good full breakfast, and I want you to eat every bit of it before we go out today. You are not living with those animals anymore. You will eat enough until you are full and then some. You are woefully underweight and small for your age, and you need the energy the food will give you to grow and develop. Do you understand me young man?" Harry couldn't believe someone would get mad at him for eating too little breakfast.

"Yes ma'am." Was all he could say.

Tilly first brought Harry over some buttered toast with honey still in the comb, raspberry jam and orange marmalade, followed by a glass of orange juice (with a full decanter to refill his glass), and some tea with a full teapot, with cream and sugar if he needed more of that.

Minerva actually had to show Harry how to use the knife to put the jam and marmalade on the toast, and how to fix his tea.

Next came the porridge with some butter, brown sugar and milk with some dried currants to add in for a bit more flavor. Harry couldn't believe he was expected to eat all this, but sat down to the task after taking one look from Professor McGonagall.

Thinking he was done with breakfast, Harry started to stand before another plate appeared in front of him. This plate had baked beans, a fried egg, sautéed mushrooms, a broiled tomato with cheese melted on top, a link of sausage, a rasher of bacon, and a scone (we'll leave out the blood or black pudding for now). Harry just stopped and looked at that.

"You expect me to eat all of that ma'am?"

"Yes Mr Potter. This is what is called a full breakfast here in Scotland. This is what the 'normal' people eat every day before they go out to do a full days' work and expect you to eat this same thing every morning. Of course this may be the only day you are here with me since the goblins want you back in their hospital starting tomorrow, but I would expect they would have something very similar for you when you get there. Now eat up, we haven't got all day you know."

Harry sat back down and slowly ate away at all the food on his plate. It all tasted great! What had he been missing out on all these years? He just couldn't believe that people would eat something like this every day.

Just as he was finishing up with the last of the baked beans soaked into a piece of buttered toast his stomach gave a mighty lurch. He just wasn't use to eating all this food at once – or at all for that matter.

"Excuse me ma'am." Was all he had time to say before he was out of his chair heading back to the bathroom at top speed. He made it just in time to empty the contents of his stomach to the porcelain god. 'Maybe it was a bit early to expect him to be able to keep a full breakfast down this soon after being back from those Dursleys.' Minerva thought to herself as she heard what was happening.

After getting cleaned back up and Tilly cleaning up the bathroom, Professor McGonagall brought Harry back to his bedroom to let him get settled down a bit. She used some mild tea and some toast to get his stomach to settle.

Finally, they were both ready to head out to get Harry some new clothes. Going to the fire place, Minerva took out a pinch of floo powder and, while holding on to Harry's hand, threw it into the fire saying 'The Leaky Cauldron!' The next moment Harry was spinning around and around passing different floo grates, getting a glimpse of different people and places. All too soon, he felt Minerva stepping out of the floo in to a dark, dank tavern. Clearing the soot off them, they headed out into London proper and Charing Cross Road.

"Since this is most likely the very first time you've been to London, I thought we would take a bus tour to show you some of the sights and sounds of the city. There are some in the wizarding world that would have us ignore this, thinking that the mundane are all beneath us, but I do not feel this way. I am constantly amazed at what they have accomplished without magic, and if we do not pull our collective heads out of the sand, I fear we will be left behind."

Before getting on the tour bus, they walked around Trafalgar Square, seeing Nelson's Column and the other monuments. Then, getting on the bus they saw a great deal in London in a very short time. Harry was amazed to see Piccadilly Circus; where the Minister of Great Britain lived, and where Parliament met. To see – or more correctly to 'hear' Big Ben' was quite a treat for him. Westminster Abby, Victoria Tower Gardens, Cleopatra's Needle, Christchurch Gardens, Broadway, Buckingham Palace and the changing of the guard. Hyde Park and the Speakers Corner, and finally to Harrods where they would be doing their shopping.

The first thing they did was to go to the fourth floor where all the young adult clothes were located at, along with a café based on characters from someone named 'Disney'. Not wanting to have a repeat of this morning's experience, Harry decided to just have a Ham and Cheddar cheese Toasty with some Garlic and Parmesan Bread, along with a drink called 'Coke' while Minerva had a Chicken Caesar Salad with a Sweet Tea.

After a filling meal, they went about getting different clothes for Harry, from bottom to top. Socks, shoes (both dress and trainers), underwear (briefs, he's far too young – or small for boxers), tee-shirts, pants, shirts, ties. Everything a young man might need to look fashionable in modern England.

Returning back to Professor McGonagall's cottage, Tilly took all their packages and put them in their respective bedrooms.

"Mr Potter, please come with me to the parlor, we have several things to talk about."

Filling rather small and afraid, Harry rounded his shoulders and followed Professor McGonagall into her parlor where he finds only two chairs facing across from each other. Professor McGonagall sat in the larger wingback chair while Harry finds a small side chair across from it that he reluctantly sits in.

"Mr Potter, as you know the goblins have offered to try and resolve some of the problems they found during their examination. I will be totally honest with you. It will hurt, but I also feel that in the long run, this is the best thing for you. The longer this is put off the more difficult it will be to fix the problems, and the more pain will be involved. The goblin healers are some of the best in the magical world. Only the high elves are better, and they have not been seen in many millennia.

"The goblins will be doing everything in their power to correct the many problems they found. To be totally honest with you, it is somewhat of a miracle that you're still alive. 120 different times where your bones where broken and not set properly! It's a miracle you can walk or use your arms at all. You heard how old it said your bones and internal organs were. 145 years old is old even in the magical world! Fortunately, this damage can be corrected if they are successful in getting the binding removed from your core.

"I am concerned with the soul fragment they found under your scar. The only thing I can think of is something went wrong when He-who-must-not-be-named attempted the killing curse on you. The fact that it is also using some of the very small amount of magic you have is even more concerning to me, but if there are any people who understand soul magic, it's the goblins.

"The power blocks that were placed on you also concern me, will one of them anyway. It's obvious you must have been very powerful as a young child if your parents felt that they had to limit the amount of power you had to 50 percent. I'm sure you were just as mischievous as your father and his friends. I just wonder what you were like when you were a baby. I'm sorry to say I did not keep in touch with them after their marriage, and when they moved to Godric's Hollow.

"It is the second power block that has me concerned. I know, or I thought I knew Headmaster Dumbledore, the person responsible for that second block. I just cannot think of one good reason to put a total power block on a young child of three. If not for your parents power block coming off, there is a very good chance that you would be dead now. Your body just would not have been able to repair itself fast enough with all the injuries you received. I know that when the goblins go to remove this second block they will have to be very careful. If your core is unbound too quickly, there is a good chance that it could rupture or tear. The result of that could be anything from you not being able to keep the magic in your core, or, if is a rapid rupture, it could even cause your death.

"My other concern is, of course your mind health. Who would have felt it was necessary to obliviate a child or block their memories? It's a very difficult and dangerous thing to do. The young mind is still growing and developing. To put a memory block on one so young could permanently damage the person.

"Now, Mr Potter, I've been talking quite a bit tonight, but I want to hear from you. Do you want the goblins to try and help you tomorrow?"

Harry was trying his hardest to keep track of everything Professor McGonagall was saying, but it was so overwhelming! To be totally honest, he was scared. "How long will they keep me?" he asked in a low shaky voice.

Minerva looked at him with what she thought were warm, soft, loving eyes. "The goblin healers have indicated that if you are to attend Hogwarts on September 1st, we must start the treatment no later than the 6th of July. That only gives us a four day window."

"Will you be there with me?"

"I will try to be with you as much as I can, but I have duties as the Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts that I have to do between now and the 1st of September. I will be receiving daily reports from the healers, and will try and visit when I can."

"Will you be telling the Headmaster about how much he hurt me?"

Minerva has to sit back in her chair and take a deep breath before answering. "No, I won't be telling the Headmaster much at all about you. I had warned him about you being placed with your Aunt, but he went against my judgment and did it anyway. And with the goblins making me sigh the 'Loco Parentis' form, he will not be your guardian when you come to Hogwarts, that means he has no need of knowing what harm he has done or what we have done to correct it.

"There is something very wrong with the way the Headmaster has treated you. I want to be able to watch and observe to see if there is anything I can determine about that. It may be that we have to get the magical police involved if he does not stop this abusive behavior towards you. Do you have any other questions?"

Harry thought for a while. "Many times while we were traveling around the city you would say something about 'mundane'. What's a mundane?"

This took Minerva back a little. She had been in the magical community so long that she just assumed everyone – except the mundane-born witches and wizards, knew what a mundane was.

"Oh, well, there are certain factions within the magical community that judge people based on their blood status. You have mundane, squib, mundane-born, half-blood and pure-blood.

"A mundane is a person who has no magic that was born to parents that also have no magic.

"A squib is a person who has no magic that was born to parents where one or both parents were magical.

"A mundane-born is a person who HAS magic but was born from parents that didn't have any magic.

"A half-blood is basically where one parent is a pure-blood and one parent is not. The second parent could be a mundane or mundane-born, or if both parents are mundane-born.

"A pure-blood is where there are no mundane parents or grandparents on either side of the family. It really is quite stupid if you ask me. If you look at where all the squibs come from, it's from the pure blood families. Anything else?"

"Just one more thing. They mentioned a 'Merlin Scale'. What's that?"

"Oh, the Merlin Power Scale (MPS) is to help us tell just how powerful a witch or wizard is:

0 – Mundane

1 to 10 – Squib

11 to 100 – Minor or weak witch or wizard

101 to 1,000 – A normal witch or wizard

1,001 to 10,000 – An Enchantress or Enchanter

10,001 to 100,000 – A Sorceress or Sorcerer

100,001 to 1,000,000 – A Magus or Mage

1,000,001 and above – An Arch Magus or Mage

"It is believed that Merlin himself as been the only Arch Mage to have ever existed."

"Well, I think the sooner I do this the sooner I can start getting better. You'll come with me tomorrow won't you?

"Of course I will Harry, now why don't you head upstairs to bed?"


	6. CH 6 Gringotts More than a bank you know

Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts

Chapter 6 – Gringotts; It's more than a bank you know. (03-Jul-1991)

Waking up early, Harry and Minerva ate a quick breakfast (this time Harry was able to keep it down) and headed off quickly to Gringotts. They were met by Master teller Slimchance and taken back to the hospital area in the bank. Upon entering there, healers Epione, Panacea and Hygieia greeted them warmly.

"Welcome back Professor McGonagall, Mr Potter. We are well please you could come back so soon. It will give us the extra time we need so that we don't have to push the healing process too aggressively, and can give you a few days to rest and get ready for your going to Hogwarts on time."

Professor McGonagall gave Harry a hug and a reassuring pat on his head. "I have to get back to Hogwarts now Harry, there are still about 23 other students that need to be brought into the wizarding world." Harry returned the hug and then went into the hospital area with the three healers.

"The most pressing item we need to take care of right now would be to take care of the soul fragment out of our head." Head healer Epione stated firmly. "With your body in such a weakened state, we should be able to get rid of it without too much trouble. Harry didn't really know what they were talking about, but knew he really didn't want another person's soul fragment sharing space with his own soul. Nodding his head in agreement, he went in to the waiting room they had ready for him.

The healers took Harry back to a room that would be more considered a suite than a bedroom. There was a large queen-size bed with a full anwar where his clothes had been moved to. He also had a desk and shelves where he could study and a place for his school books could go. On the other side of the room he could see his own in-suite full bathroom, and next to it a place where he could practice brewing his first year potions.

"Now, we are going to get some of the Goblin Elders to help us with this process. We will be going to one of the ritual room where you will have to lay naked in the center of the runic circle. The Elders will chant the exorcism and the soul fragment will be banished to the afterlife."

"Naked? Why do I have to be naked?"

The magic will work best if it can cover your entire body, front to back, top to bottom. For this to happen, you will need to be naked. Now for your modesty, we can provide you a covering to use while you enter the circle, but that will be removed once you are placed in the magical sleep. I will personally make sure you are covered back up before you wake up. Does that sound alright to you?"

"I guess so. Will it hurt?" Harry asked in a shaky voice.

"It may hurt Harry, but as I said, you will be in a magically sleep, meaning you shouldn't feel any pain while the fragment is being removed from you. When you wake up, I'm sure you will have one huge headache. My daughter, healer Panacea will be there with a headache potion that should have the headache gone before you leave the room. Is that alright with you?"

"I guess, I just don't know about being naked in a room with a bunch of old goblins and healers."

Healer Epione laughed. "Don't worry Harry it's nothing that the Elders or healers haven't seen many times before. Now, why don't we give you a few healing and calming potions before we call in the Goblin Elders and the other healers?"

A few moments later, Harry was sticking his head around the corner as he came out of the dressing room, or maybe that should be 'un' dressing room in nothing but a linen cloth that had a hole in the middle of it where he stuck his head through. Using his hands, he made sure both sides of the cloth were closed as best as he could. The senior Elder noticed him and approached him. "Ah Mr Potter. It has been many years since I have had the pleasure of greeting one of your clan. My name is Bloodkill. I knew your grandfather and great-grandfather as well as those with many more 'greats' in front of their name as well. I did not have the chance to meet you father I am sad to say. I am however glad that I can return in some small way a favor to clan Potter for all the help they have given to me and the Goblin Nation throughout the past.

"I will take you to the center of the runic circle if you wish?" Without really waiting, Bloodkill took Harry by the hand and lead him down a path so that the runic patterns on the floor were not disturbed. Getting to the center, Bloodkill spoke again. "Mr Potter, you need to lay down here while we perform the exorcism. I will put you in a goblin sleep where you can enter your mindscape and, if you want, you can follow us and see how the soul fragment is to be removed.

It may not be a pretty sight. If this soul fragment is what I think it is, it will not want to leave without a fight. The reason why I am allowing you to be in your mindscape is so that you can help us remove this stain on your soul. I think it will help in the healing process if you have some idea as to what has been burdening you for the past ten years."

Bloodkill helped Harry lay down and, placing his hand / claw on his head put him into a deep goblin sleep. Then casting another spell, removed the tunic from Harry as his body lifted off the stone floor and started to slowly rotate.

Harry for his part was absolutely amazed at what he saw. Gone was the big old room with the funny lines on the floor and old goblins sitting cross-legged around in a circle. Here he was in an entirely new landscape. There were flat plains, rolling hills, and steep mountains all around him. There were very few trees in the plains or on the rolling hills, and hardly any grass or animal life that he could sense. The river, or more appropriately, river bed, that came from the mountains down to the plains had no water to speak of.

On top of one of the rolling hills was an old, worn-out mansion. The grass and tree around the mansion looked somewhat better than that away from the mansion. Harry could feel that this was where the source of his power was located at, and that the condition of his mindscape represented the general condition of his body.

He started to walk to the mansion, and within a few moments found he was in front of the door. It opened as he approached, and he took a tentative step inside.

The floors were dull and dirty, the walls were in poor repair. The picture frames that he found hanging on the walls were all empty and he was unable to read the labels on them. The kitchen and pantry were so small he had to down on his hands and knees to look inside. 'This must be a representation of how my stomach looks.' He thought to himself. The library he found in the mansion was bigger than any room he had ever seen, however, it too looked to be in poor repair with just a few books on the shelves, most of which were covered in dust from disuse.

In Harry's mindscape, he could feel that the Goblin Elders were starting something. He felt his body start to glow and he could feel a power source below his mansion. Running from one end of the building to the other, Harry finally found the door that he thought lead to the basement, where the energy he could feel was coming from. The only problem, the door was locked. He search and searched for a key, when that could not be found, he looked for something that he could uses to break the door down. Again there was nothing that was strong enough or hard enough to break the door down.

Looking at the door again, Harry noticed there was on bolt on the door, just the latch connected to the door knob. Looking at the latch, Harry saw that the latch was exposed enough to where if he could get a knife or other straight-edged item, he may be able to force the latch back to where he could open the door. He did find an old crocked knife in the kitchen that he was able to get out and use on the latch.

Pushing as hard as he could, Harry had to try several times before the latch moved. When it did he was overjoyed – but then it stopped. Even with the door opened only a little bit, the feeling of warmth and fresh air that came out from the small gap was refreshing, and Harry noticed the door and the parts of the floor that were in the path of the breeze began looking better already.

Returning his attention the why the door would not open, Harry saw that there was an old 'hook and eye' style look keeping the door closed. Keeping his right hand firmly on the door knob, he put the knife in his left hand and, easing the door back a little he slid the knife up and took the hook out of the eye lock that was keeping it closed. Looking up and down the door opening to make sure there were no other locks holding onto the door, he took ahold of the door knob and pulled it open. The rusty hinges protested moving from their many years of disuse. The further the door was open, the fresher the air felt and the better kept the area around the door looked. Harry was amazed at the transformation that was taking place and wondered if it had anything to do with his magic.

After blocking the door open so that it could not close and he could not get stuck down in the basement, Harry continued his way down to see where this other power was coming from. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, he found himself in a large room or chamber that seemed to cover the same area as the mansion above. It was almost completely empty save for the one small sphere about one and a half meters in diameter floating in the middle of the basement. Around the sphere was a metal like covering that looked to be pitted and worn, but for the most part, kept the sphere covered. There was one defect in the sphere where a golden light was shining through the metal. 'Is that my magic?' Harry wondered. He became aware that the room was getting lighter as the Goblin Elders began their chant.

He saw that there was something with black tentacles trying to get closer to the sphere and cover the whole where the golden lint was coming out. "What do you think you are doing you ugly mess of black stuff?" Harry asked out to the tentacles.

"Stand aside you simpleton. I have a far greater need of this power than you. I must get strong enough to where I can over take this body and rise again to conquer and rule this world." Came a small voice from the far side of the room where the black mass was centered.

"Just who do you think you are hot shot? This is my body, and I just found out I'm a wizard and can do magic! What can you do?"

"Oh you foolish boy, I have learned more magic and have gone deeper into the dark art than anyone in history! Compared to me you are not even an infant! I will soon have the power I require to take over this body and then continue my glorious quest of world domination!"

"You know what you remind me of? A weed in my Aunt's garden, and I'm real good at pulling weeds." Harry ran forward and started removing the tentacles from around the sphere. As he did, the white magic from the Goblin Elders also started to pull at the dark mass, slowly tearing it apart as Harry continued to remove the tentacles that were acting as an anchor, holding it in his mindscape.

"Stop that you insolent brat! I am Lord Voldemort and command you to let me have access to that magical core and this body! I must have it to fulfil my destiny of the supreme ruler of the world."

"Yeah, well sorry Mr Moldyshorts, I'm tired and I don't want you here!" As Harry and the Goblin Elders continued to tear the soul fragment apart, streams of lights of all color started pouring out of the soul fragment. As more and more of the lights escaped the soul fragment, the tentacles, and the black blob continued to get smaller and smaller. Soon all that was left was the pure, black part of the soul that was once one / hundred twenty eighth (1/128) of Tom Marvolo Riddle; the once dark lord Voldemort. This may have been the smallest piece of Tom's soul, but it was also the part of Tom that had the most knowledge. That knowledge has escaped while Harry and the Goblin Elders were tearing the soul fragment apart. It was drawn to Harry's library in his mindscape to wait for someone to find it again.

Out in the runic chamber, lights of every color and hue (mostly black) were coming from the scar of Harry James Potter. The Elders had not expected the soul fragment to put up such a considerable fight. They could tell the fight was about over when the light coming from Harry's scar was all black and his scar opened up and started emitting a black viscous blob. As Harry continued to rotate slowly above the ground, as soon as his scar was facing the ground, the black blob fell into the circle and immediately started to let out a deafening scream. The blob began to boil and smoke until there was nothing left of it. They kept the chant up until Harry had made two more full rotations to make sure the entire soul fragment had been removed.

Meanwhile in Harry's mindscape, Harry saw the black blob vanish as it had been surrounded by a white light that he thought must be the Goblin Elder's magic, he looked around the basement and found that even after such a short time being free of the dark lord's soul fragment, everything was already looking brighter, not much, but brighter. It was like seeing a single candle trying to brighten up the entire basement. Slowly, either his eyes were getting use to the light of the single candle, or things were looking better. Slowly, Very slowly, the room was looking cleaner, more well-kept. The stairs leading out of the basement were looking newer.

Making his way out of the mansion he could also see that things on the outside were also slowly improving. There was a little color in everything. The river that ran throughout the mindscape now had the barest amount of water flowing down it. At its current rate, it would probably take 200 years to get everything watered and the lake in the distant beginning to fill. Harry walked over to the biggest tree in his mindscape that was closest to the water and saw as the first green leaf started to appear on the tree. He was tired and just wanted to rest, so he sat down with his back against the tree and went to sleep.

Two days after having Tom's soul fragment taken out, Harry woke to find himself back in his hospital room, well, suite really. He found all three healers working around him casting spells and taking reading over his body. He felt a great urge to go to the loo, when one of healers waved their wand over him again, and the feeling went away. As he started to move, healer Epione noticed and came to talk to Harry to see how he was feeling.

"Better healer Epione." Harry answered. "I didn't notice the pressure that soul fragment was placing on my head and whole body. I don't think I've ever felt this good before."

Healer Epione smiled, but inside she was thinking 'If this is the best this boy has ever felt, what kind of hell had Dumbledore placed him in?'

One of the things Harry found out was now he could see just fine without his glasses. However, they and become such a part of his life that he felt maybe he should keep it part of his image – just with new frames and plain glass in them.

Sitting Harry on the edge of the bed, healer Epione came over to talk to him and let him know what they were going to do today. "Harry, now that the soul fragment is gone, the next most important thing we can do for you is to get your magic unbound and get you learning something about the magical world. I'm sure Professor McGonagall told you about some of the problems that may occur if we release your bindings too fast." Harry shook his head 'Yes'. "Good. Our goal is to let about two percent of the block off each day. Then we want you to exercise your core by using this hand globe. If you concentrate on your magical core and the ball, you can get the magic to start to flow to the ball and it will light up. The brighter the color, the more successful you are at pushing magic into the ball and building up your core. But this also means that we have to fix the bones in your arms and hands first.

"What we are going to do first, and every day while you are here with us, is measure your magical potential on the 'Merlin Power Scale' (MPS) to see how things are going. Remember we found the permanent block on your magic and removed about one percent of the block from your core? We're going to see what that did to your magical potential. This is important because the more magic you have, the more your body can help us heal yourself. Do you understand Harry?" Harry thought for a minute and then shook his head 'Yes' for a few moments before he shook it 'No'. He really didn't understand everything they had said. Laughing a bit, the healers gave him a short hug and messed up his hair more than it was already.

"That's alright Harry, I'm sure by the time you get out of here you'll know just about as many healing spells as your Madam Pomfrey at Hogwarts."

Sitting Harry on the edge of his bed, healer Epione waved her wand over his head uttering a spell under her breath. A wisp of smoke rose above Harry's head where the number '128' appeared for a few moments before fading away. "Very good Harry," Healer Epione said. "Removing one percent of your block increased your magical potential from 103 to 128 for an increase of 25 points. That means even if we just straight line the expected increase that would be an increase of 2,500 points above where you started, that puts you at the power range of an Enchanter – and that's without working your core or exercising. Now, we're going to give you a nutrition potion and a sleeping draft. Then we are going to fix up your arms and hand and try to take off another two percent of the binding on your core. What do you think of that?" Harry just shook his head excitedly.

The healers around Harry all laughed while they got him ready for bed then gave him the potions. Before long Harry was sleeping peacefully in the middle of his queen-size bed.

"Now my daughters," healer Epione said with sadness in her voice. "Make sure he is bound tightly to the bed before you remove all the bones from his arm and hands and give him the Skele-Gro. I'm afraid young Mr Potter is going to be in for a painful night. While you do that I'll work on loosening the binding on the core."

Harry did have a very uncomfortable night that evening. He was back in his mindscape walking around and looking. He entered the mansion again, walk about and move from room to room, but this time, he couldn't raise his arms to feel or touch anything. If a door was closed, it would stay closed. He had no way of opening it back up. 'Why didn't I leave all the room opened the last time I was here?' He thought to himself. His arms just felt as if they were burning, starting from his shoulders and moving down to the tips of his fingers. He then felt the source of power that was coming from the basement of the house and went to see how things were going down there.

Upon reaching the basement, he found the golden ball still floating in the middle of the room, still being held and almost completely covered or restricted by a thick band that looked like steel cage. Only the one small pin prick of light was escaping the cage. But instead of the light of one candle, it had the light of two.

Then he saw what looked like an angel descending from above with a bright white rod in its hand. The 'angel' took the rod and first its rod and gently placed it into the area where the light was coming from. Slowly, it worked the rod in a circular motion. Little by little you could see the hole in the cage get a little bit bigger and the light grew brighter. Harry felt a glow in his body that made him feel stronger, more whole and complete. 'Could this be my magic'? He thought to himself. 'If that's what it is, I want more of it, but the healers and Professor McGonagall tell me that if I let too much out at one time, it might hurt or even kill me. I wonder what would happen if that steel cage came off all at once? I can already see the little piece of the golden ball trying to push itself out the little hole they've made in it. I better be patient and let the healers do what they need to.'

All the time Harry was observing this, the pain in his arms was growing more and more and it hurt, especially since he couldn't move his arms to see if he could make the pain any less. Then he thought to himself. 'If that light is my magic, and I need magic to help heal my body, what would happen if I put my body directly in the path of that light?' Walking to where the light was coming out of the steel cage, Harry positioned himself where the light could hit him right in the chest. As soon as he did this, his body felt as if his arms and hands had been covered in molten lava. Letting out an ear piercing scream, he could not believe the amount of pain he was in, but he also felt the pain 'roll' for lack of a better word from his shoulders towards his hands. As he looked at the parts of his arms that had been repaired, it looked as if those parts where no longer flesh and bone, but metal and bone. He could feel how much stronger the new bone was that was being repaired.

A new feeling started to come over Harry. It was different, something that he wasn't very familiar with. Power: he felt for the first time that the arms and hands of his body held true power. Would he be willing to put up with this pain if he could obtain this feeling of power? YES! This would be worth just about any price he had to pay. The pain would be temporary. The power he would get from it would be forever! But he knew he would have to do this every time his healers repaired any of his bones or other parts. The more he could saturate his body with his magic, the stronger he would be. At least that's what he thought in his own not quite eleven year old mind.

Meanwhile on the real world, the healers were all very pleased with the initial results they were seeing from their young patient. The nutrition potions were being absorbed quickly into his body. There had been no problem with removing the damaged bones from both arms from the shoulders down to the tips of his fingers. As a precaution, Harry's body had been strapped down with straps every four to six inches from the top of his head to his toes. Even his arms and hands that currently didn't have any bones in them were strapped down to prevent them from moving too much. After the Skele-Gro had been given a chance to start, healer Epione started doing her part to attack the permanent binding on Mr Potter. She began to gently move her wand in a circular motion to thin out and then slowly move the binding away from his core.

Healer Epione had just finished her part of the procedure and has stopped with her work when Harry let out a blood curdling yell with every part of his body straining against his bindings. Shocked by the sound of the young man who should not be in that much pain all the healers started to do an overall scan of his body. What they found was that the nutrition potions had been totally consumed in a fifth the time it should have been. His heart was beating a mile a minute, and his blood pressure was dangerously high.

Healers Panacea and Hygieia noticed that the rate of bone regrowth had also increased much faster than it should be.

"He needs more nutrition potions now!" Healer Panacea stated. "Something has kicked up the bone growth and it's burning through the nutrients we gave him and is starting to pull on his magical core again. Maybe we should consult with healer Aceso to see if we are doing things right or is there a better way to heal Mr Potter."

Healer Epione was only half listening to her daughter as she had already started giving Harry the nutrition potion as quickly as she could. It seemed that almost as soon as he had one potion down, he would need another one. On the other hand, the bones were healing at a rate where the entire process would be done in three hours instead of the expected eight to ten hours.

The healers finally seemed to be getting a head of Harry's need for nutrition potions as the Skele-Gro got down to the hands and fingers. Harry had stopped screaming a couple of hours ago, but you could tell he was still in a great deal of pain. As soon as the last distal phalanx of his little finger was formed it was if his body gave a great sigh of relief. His whole body went slack and he fell into a deep restful sleep.

Inside Harry's mindscape, he was tired, sweaty and glad that part of his healing was over with. 'Just think only 49 more days of this and I'll be as good as new.' After his treatment, his 'body' had fallen out of the light coming from the golden ball. Now that he could hold his hands up and move his arms, he slowly moved one hand to where it would be touching the light. What he felt instead of pain and molten lava was warmth and peace. Slowly he rose back up so that as much of his body that he could get into the light was exposed to it. It felt so good, like lying on the grass at Aunt Petunia's back yard in late spring. He felt like he could have spent the whole day there.

Harry went back outside the mansion to see what had changed there. He was quite surprised. There was even more color, more water running down the stream (he could still block the flow of the water by putting his foot in the stream bed), the grass was less brown and his tree by the stream now had one of the lower branches almost completely full of leaves. He went back over to the tree and laid back down and went to sleep again.

The next morning Harry didn't wake up until 9:30am, quite late for him. As he tried getting out of bed, he found that not only did his arms and hands feel heavy and tired, his whole body did. Finally after getting up and taking care of his morning oblations he returned to his room and after getting dressed, found another full English breakfast set out for him on his desk along with four vials of potions. Two read, 'Take before breakfast', while the other two read 'Take after breakfast'. Following his orders, he first swallowed the first two potions as quickly as he could and then washed it down with two glasses of orange juice. He was starting to get use to the large breakfast. It was much better than getting half a piece of dry toast or an apple core for breakfast.

After eating, the door to his room opened up showing his three healers. They were followed in by another healer who you could tell was related to the other three. "Harry, this is healer Aceso, another one of my daughters." Healer Epione said. "We've asked her here to see if maybe we can get you healing procedure refined. There seems to have been some trouble with our first attempt with you last night. Can you tell us what you remember? But first, let's get your morning Merlin Power Rating."

Healer Epione waved her wand over his head again, uttering the spell under her breath. A wisp of smoke rose above Harry's head where the number '203' appeared for a few moments before fading away. The healers were all in a bit of a shock. An increase of 75 points after removing only an additional two percent of the binding on his magical core! That was half again as much as they were expecting.

After making their notes and such, they ask Harry to tell of what he could remember last night.

He told them about entering the large, broken down house. How he could walk around, but that his arms and hands wouldn't move. He told them of the basement where he found a golden ball and the little pin prick of light that was coming from it. He told of the 'angel' coming down and making the whole in the shield bigger so more light could come out of the sphere. How he felt he could heal better if he were to stand in the light coming out of the golden ball. Of the pain he felt when he first did it, but then of the power he felt the longer he stood in the light. He told them how in the morning, when he could move his arms and hands, he stuck one hand up in the light and how warm and comforting it felt.

Healer Aceso listened to what Harry had to say, and then, after thinking about everything, told the others, "You must see that Mr Potter gets as much food and nutrition that his body will take both before and during the next healing treatment. It would appear that Mr Potter is able to be an 'active' participant in his healing.

"Mr Potter, the building you saw is a representation of your own body. You described it as old looking and in poor repair? That's you. Your bones, muscles and organs are all in poor shape because of the life you have experienced at the Dursleys. The golden ball? That is your magical core. When you stood in front of it, you where directing all of your magical energy into help regrow your bones. Some of the pain you felt was due to the fact that we did not have enough nutrition potions in you for the magic to turn into bone, and so the magic itself was being turned into the bone. It would have taken a tremendous amount of energy to convert your magic into your new bones. That would have been one of the reasons it felt so hot. You were basically using a solar furnace to build your bones. They say we live in a closed system. That means that matter and energy cannot be created or destroyed, what it can do is change states, but when something goes from matter to energy or energy to matter, something else is given off. Heat. Yes, heat is another form of energy. It really is a miracle you didn't burn yourself up last night."

Harry was stunned at what he heard. He didn't understand all of it, but he was stunned never the less.

"Now for the rest of the day we are going to test you with some power balls, and then we want you to start reading your Hogwarts books and start to get a better understanding of how the magical world works here in Great Britain."

Harry was brought over to his desk so he would have a solid surface to work from. Healer Epione brought out a little clear ball about the size of a small apple. "We also want you to use your magic. Take this ball in your hand and try to push your magic into it. The more you push into it, the brighter the ball will become. If the ball cracks don't worry, there are plenty more where they came from. We also want you to use both hands. This exercise is to help magical conduits in your body to open up and be ready to carry your magic. We do not want you to become what we call 'overbalanced' or maybe considered 'unbalanced'. That's where one side of your body can carry a great deal of magic, but the other side can't. Like I said, we have many of these balls of all shapes and sizes, each one is designed to require the caster to put more and more power into the ball before it will start glowing. Now why don't we see how this works out for you?"

Taking the ball in his right hand Harry looked at it, expecting something to happen. After a few moments he looked up to healer Epione with a questioned look on his face as if to ask 'Just how does this work?' Laughing, healer Epione took the ball back from Harry and rested it into her hand and immediately it started to glow brightly. "You have to push your magic through your body into the ball. It's how you get better connected with your core. Many younger witches and wizards do accidental magic when they push an uncontrolled amount of magic out when something emotional happens, like fear, anger, excitement or love. This will help you control that type of magic so that when you get a wand, or wish to perform wandless magic, you will be able to do so safely."

Harry took the ball back and started to think about making the ball glow. Still nothing happened. "Try and think of that golden ball you saw in your mindscape last night Harry. See if you can push the light from that golden ball to your hand and the practice ball you have in your hand. Take a few minutes and see if you can find your core." Harry closed his eyes and searched for the warm feeling he had last night in his mindscape. After a few minutes, he found the basement where the golden ball was located at.

Once he had the vision of the golden ball in his mind's eye, he pictured himself holding the practice ball in the beam of light that was coming out of the ball. As he did this he felt a warm current moving from the center of his chest, down his arm and out to his hand.

"Open your eyes Harry," healer Epione said. Harry opened his eyes and saw the ball glowing about as bright as a 30 watt bulb. As soon as he saw that, however, the feeling went away and the ball stopped glowing. "Oh, I see you didn't keep your concentration between your power core and the ball. That's alright. Actually, you did very well for that being just your second time trying the exercise. Now change hands and see if you can do it with your left side as well. You may find it helpful to close your eyes again so you can concentrate on your core and getting your energy flowing from your core to the ball again."

So Harry did just that. He placed the ball in his left hand and again closed his eyes trying to find his 'magical core' in his mindscape as healer Epione had called it. For some reason it seemed harder to do this on the left side, it was almost like he couldn't walk straight or hold his hand up with the ball in his left hand. He would think 'up' and it seemed like his arm went 'down'. He thought 'go left' and he'd end up going right. He finally had to take time to just move very slowly and make sure his body was going in the same direction he wanted it to be going. If he started going the wrong way, he would stop, feel what his body was doing and then slowly move in the right direction. He finally got into the chamber with the golden ball and was able to hold the ball in the light that was coming out of the ball. He could feel the warm feeling again coming from his chest down his left arm to his left hand to the practice ball, but it was much harder, like there was something restricting the amount of magic that could go down that side of his body. Opening his eyes again, he saw that the ball was glowing, but only about half as bright as when he held it in his right hand.

"That was hard." He said. "What did it feel like Harry?" healer Hygieia asked. "It was almost like everything I tried to do was in reverse. I'd try to go left and I'd end up going right. If I tried to hold the ball up, it would go down. I had to move very slowly and keep concentrating on what I was trying to do."

"Yes, that is what we were talking about when we mentioned being 'overbalanced'. You are used to doing everything with the right side and so the left side really doesn't know how to behave. Since your right side is predominate, the left side reverses or inverses the signal your mind is sending to it and it has a hard time interpreting what is truly wanted. That is why up is down, right is left etc. Now I want you to try it with your left hand again. Take it slow and make sure your body knows what it is you have done. Do this for the next thirty minutes and let's see how well you are doing at the end of that."

So Harry practiced with his left hand, time and time again. Finding his magical core a little faster each time, walking a little faster to the chamber with fewer mistakes until at the end of the thirty minutes he was able to walk at almost a normal speed to the chamber where his magical core was located and get the practice ball to light up a little brighter each time.

At the end of the thirty minutes, he was asked to switch the ball back to his right hand and try it again. After an initial stumble, he was able to bring his power from his core to the practice ball quickly.

"Now Harry, I want you to light your practice ball without closing your eyes. Just think of the feel of your magical core and what you want it to do, what your intent is to do with the practice ball alright? Good, start with the right hand first and then move over to the left hand next."

Harry looked up at healer Hygieia as if she had lost her mind. "Go ahead Harry, I know you can do this you've done very well with the other exercise, and this is just the next step. After you get this part down, we're going to go for speed to see how quickly you can get the ball to light up, after that we're going to go for power, how bright you can make the practice ball glow. I want to see how long it takes you to break this first practice ball. I have a little bet with my sister healer Panacea, I say you can break the first practice ball in one week, she thinks it will take you at least two. I don't like losing to my sister Harry. Can you work hard to prove me right?"

Harry was somewhat amazed that someone had faith in him that he could accomplish a goal in such a short period of time. He really liked healers Epione and Hygieia. It's not that he didn't dislike healer Panacea, it's just that every time she showed up she had some potion or something for him to drink, and he had been drinking a LOT of those nutrition potions today, about one every half hour. It made it so he had to go the bathroom much more than usual.

Harry shook his head 'Yes' and started practicing. At first he had to 'cheat' a little by closing his eyes for just a second or two to picture his magical core in his mindscape, then push the power out down his arm and into his hand. He would succeed on the right side and then change to the left hand. Back and forth again and again, until he got to the point where he could almost light up the ball in one hand and pass it over to the other hand and have it lit up again before it even got dim. After thirty minutes of this drill, Harry was quite proud of how quickly he could get his practice ball glowing, and if he wasn't mistaken, it was getting brighter at the end of the exercise, than at the beginning.

"Very good Harry, you're getting quite good at that now, but I want to try something a little different." This time it was healer Epione that had come over to him. She brought out another practice ball and placed it in his unoccupied hand.

"I want you to light up BOTH practice balls at the same time, and I want you to try to get them to the same brightness and hold them there for say, ten seconds okay?"

Harry looked shocked. 'Light up both practice balls?' That would mean pushing his magic down both arms at once! Could he even do that? Well, I guess there really is just one way to find out. Taking the second practice ball and placing it in his left hand he closed his eyes and thought about his magical core and how it was connected to his body. He slowly felt the warm feeling going down his right arm a little, and then the left. If he had had his eyes open at the time, he would have seen the practice ball on the right side start to light up, then go dim as the left side lit up, and back and forth. Slowly each practice ball would stay glowing while the other one was glowing also.

"You're doing good Harry you've got both balls lit up now. Now think about putting the same amount of power in each one. The left is still dimmer than the right." Healer Epione was saying. Harry concentrated on getting more power to go to the left side. "Don't let the right side go dimmer Harry, keep the brightness up there, come on, concentrate." Harry could feel his arms start to shake holding the practice balls in them. He thought about making both practice balls glow the same. He found that he still had to think harder on the left side than he did the right.

"Okay Harry you've got it! Now hold it there for ten seconds, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten!"

Harry dropped his arms and let the practice balls fall out of his hands. His arms were shaking and he was sweating as if he'd been working out in Aunt Petunia's flower bed for hours in the middle of a hot day. He opened his eyes and saw another potion bottle there from healer Panacea and a large glass of water. He drank both very quickly.

"You did very well Harry. Now why don't you take some time and get acquainted with your Hogwarts books. Maybe if Professor McGonagall comes by today you can show her how much you've read and what you can do with the practice balls?" Harry really did feel good about what he had accomplished today, but he knew he would have to keep it up or else he could forget how he had done it.

He decided that he would start with reading ' _Magical Theory_ ' by Adalbert Waffling. He thought that if he had a good understanding of the theory behind the magic, he'd be able to understand what it was the teachers where trying to get the students to do. While he read, he would right notes and questions he had on items he didn't understand. He was hoping that Professor McGonagall would be by later today to where he could ask his questions.

After reading a few chapters in ' _Magical Theory_ ', he switched to ' _The Standard Book of Spells (Grade 1)_ '' by Miranda Goshawk. Here he read about the 'Levitation Charm' (Wingardium Leviosa). It stated in the book that you had to point your wand at the object you wish to levitate, and then use a 'swish and flick' of the wand while saying the spell. Harry wished now that he had his wand from Ollivanders. He thought it might take a little bit more than just moving his wand to make the spell work. One thing he had found out with the practice balls is that there had to be a certain amount of desire or intent to make the balls light up, so your would also probably need the same intent to make the objects you were trying to levitate, well, levitate.

There was the 'Lumos' charm and its counter-charm 'Nox' where you could light the tip of your wand or turn it off with the counter-charm. He couldn't stop thinking how useful a spell like that would be if he needed a light to read by at night, or if he wanted to go on a great expedition.

'Spongify' would soften whatever area you were targeting. That would be good if you were in someplace hard and tripped.

Harry's list of questions just kept getting bigger and bigger at all the spells that were listed in the first year Standard book of spells. He promised himself that he would have that book completely read and all the wand movements memorized before he went to Hogwarts. One thing that Harry started doing while he was reading his books was rolling his practice ball back and forth from one hand to another. As the ball would land in his hand, if Harry was thinking about a spell or charm, the ball would light up. It would be dim, but it would light, regardless of what hand the ball was currently in.

The next book Harry decided to read was ' _A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration_ ' by Emeric Switch. It talked of changing match sticks to mending needles and back, snails to Teapots and mice to Tea Cups. He wasn't too sure how he felt about all that, but thought it must be some type of basic learning so you could see how to change one thing into another. He thought about what Tilly had said about Professor McGonagall being a cat. Was that part of transfiguration? Well, not first year transfigurations, but maybe in later years.

In reading ' _The Dark Forces: A guide to Self-Protection_ ' Harry couldn't see really anything that was in there that 'protect' him from a dark wizard or someone who wanted to hurt him. Well, maybe the Smokescreen spell, or the 'Mucus ad Nauseam' spell, but he really didn't see anyone with a runny nose really being put out that much if they were trying to kill you. He'd have to ask the healers or Professor McGonagall if there were some other books he could look at to learn self-defense in the wizarding world.

Harry was busy reading ' _Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them_ ' by Newt Scamander when Professor McGonagall came in to see how he was doing. She could not believe the change in the little boy in just one day! He was happy, excited and ready to talk about all the things he had read about and especially the practice ball he could light up, going from one hand to another. That was something she had never seen before. Why didn't more people practice with these types of tools? It would give a person much better control over their magic, and to see Harry use both hands was almost unbelievable. She knew all too well how much of a disadvantage someone was at when their primary wand hand or arm was injured or damaged to where you couldn't use it. For most of the witches and wizards, it was almost like taking their wand away. They just didn't have any control over their non-dominate side.

She answered the questions Harry had regarding magical theory and was impressed with how much he already understood. She told Harry that she would see about other books that he could read to help him understand some of the questions he had as well as some books that show him more useful spells that would help him if someone was after him. However, she also stressed that many of these spell required much more energy than he currently had, but she didn't see any harm in letting him read about them prior to him attending Hogwarts.

When Harry asked about Headmaster Dumbledore and if she got in trouble for taking him to Diagon Alley, she told him not to worry about it. That everything would work out.

 _Flashback – Hogwarts earlier that day_

 _Professor McGonagall made her way to the Headmasters office to tell him about the Grangers and Harry Potter._

" _Ah, Minerva, I was expecting to see you yesterday with regards to young Mr Potter. Can you tell me how things went and where the lad is? I know he is not back with his guardians. The blood protection there is getting weaker by the minute. He must go back there for his own safety!"_

" _Safety? You must be kidding yourself Albus! That boy may have been safe from Death eaters and dark creatures, but not from his own relatives! They were starving him there Albus! Lily and James' own flesh and blood and they expected him to survive on half a piece of dried toast or an apple core A DAY and still do all the chores around the house while their whale of a son sits on his arse doing nothing! I have never seen anything more disgusting in all my life. Malfoy's house elves are treated better than he was!"_

" _Oh, I'm sure things were not that bad. The boy was protected and soon will be coming here to Hogwarts to be taught the art of magic. I'm sure once he is here, all those difficulties will just go away. Harry will love Hogwarts and its staff and will see that everything that has been done for him is all for the greater good."_

" _ARE YOU BLIND OR JUST SENILE! Have you even seen him since you left him there nine and a half years ago?"_

" _Well, no, not exactly. I have Mrs Figg report to me regularly, and she assures me that there is nothing wrong with Harry or the Dursleys. I tell you the boy is fine there Minerva and he MUST return to keep the protections around his living accommodations."_

" _NEVER! Harry Potter is NEVER going back to those animals and that hell hole you've condemned him to."_

" _I think you will find Minerva that I have the final say as to the location where Mr Potter will live at."_

" _OH? And why is that?"_

" _I am Mr Potter's 'Loco Parentis' while he is attending Hogwarts. It's as simple as that."_

 _Minerva couldn't stop herself from laughing quite loudly at this thought. "Oh Albus, you are so self-righteous aren't you? You think that just because you wish it to be it shall be, will I have a little surprise for you. You are NOT the 'Loco Parentis' of Mr Potter."_

 _A bit of fear entered into the Headmasters voice. "What have you done Minerva? I MUST be the boy's 'Loco Parentis'! Who else can teach him and train him as to his role in the wizarding world but me?"_

" _If he is so important to the wizarding world, then why haven't you started training him yet? My lands Albus, he didn't even know he was a wizard until I went and talked to him and took him to Diagon Alley. You have done nothing for that boy but heaped pain and misery on him. What do you expect him to do? Thank you for all the beatings he's been giving while he's been with those monsters? No Albus. You will not control Harry Potter for whatever 'plan' you have for the 'Greater Good'."_

" _Minerva, you must tell me who the 'Loco Parentis' is! I must have control of the boy!" Albus was getting upset now. All his plans were falling around him. If Harry had someone to help him and teach him his true place in the wizarding world, he would be in a world of trouble. Not only with Harry, but with the goblins and the Ministry too._

" _I'm sorry Albus, will I'm not really, but I can't tell you who Mr Potter's 'Loco Parentis' is."_

" _Can't or won't?" The headmaster tried to see if he could find anything in Professor McGonagall's mind that would lead him to the identity of Harry's 'Loco Parentis'. All he found was a blank space. He could see and feel nothing before he was forcefully ejected from the Transfigurations professor's mind._

" _You will keep your little mind probes to yourself Albus Dumbledore! The next time I find you or your little puppet Professor Snape trying to enter my mind; I will be going directly to the DMLE and filing a formal complaint against either one of you or both. Now I came in here to give you the report of the other first year students that I will be bringing to Diagon Alley in the next few weeks. I believe I will also be encouraging each of them to find another 'Loco Parentis' then you! You obviously have too many other things on your mind to where you can be concerned with the welfare of the students here at Hogwarts. I will be out doing my duty for the next few weeks and do not plan on seeing you until it's time for the faculty meeting three days before the term begins. Good day!" With that Minerva left the headmasters office so mad that she almost took the millennia old door off its hinges when she closed it._

 _End of flashback._

Professor McGonagall spent a good few hours to tell storied about Harry's mother and father.

"James and Lily were two of my favorite students when they were at Hogwarts. Both of them sorted into my house, Gryffindor. They were head boy and girl when they were in their seventh year, even though your father had not been a prefect before that. You could tell from the start that James was in love, or maybe just in lust with the young Lily Rose Evans. I understand that he tried to declare his love for her when he first saw her on the train of their first year, but Lily would have none of it. To her he was just an obnoxious, spoiled pure-blood that thought he was god's gift to women, and she was right. That's exactly what James thought of himself.

"Your father had three close friends all the time he was here at Hogwarts; Sirius Black, Remus Lupin, and Peter Pettigrew. Those four boys were as thick as thieves. They called themselves, 'The Marauders'. You would rarely find one without the others, but if you did, it was probably because they were watching out for one another while setting up a prank. I gained more gray hairs during the time they were in Hogwarts that any other, well, maybe the Prewitt twins could give them a run for their money…."

Over the next several days and weeks Harry and his healers would repeat the same things: Work on repairing Harry's bones and body; work on releasing his magical core, work on getting him up-to-date with the dealings of the wizarding world, work on his schooling, and work on his practice balls.

It really wasn't much of a surprise that it only took Harry five days to crack his first practice ball, but to do it he had to hold it with both hands and push as hard as he could before he could get it to crack, but he had done it. It took him another three days to where he could crack the same size practice ball in his right hand and a day after that before he could crack it by using his left hand. After that he could crack the beginning practice ball by holding one in each hand. From there it only took him ten seconds to crack them both.

The next practice balls were only about a half inch larger in circumference than the first ones he had started with, but the healers had told him that it would take twice as much power to break these.

Harry was now at a point that he could power up the practice balls with either hand with the same amount of ease. He thought he would try something a little different, so, when he was reading, or the healers had put him to bed, he would sneak out and, placing the practice ball on the floor, try to push his magic through his legs and feet. To begin with it was even more difficult that when he started using just his left hand, but slowly, he got to where he could do it. What he didn't know, however, was that by doing this, channeling the magic through his legs, he was helping his leg bones and muscles get use to using the magic and responding more quickly when they went to heal those parts of his body. Just to be an eleven year old boy, one night Harry took one of the practice balls and placed it in his belly button. After concentrating very hard and were his magical core was in relation to the practice ball, but after a few minutes, the ball started glowing while it sat in his belly button. Harry was learning that his magic could be called and directed from any part of his body, not just his hand or feet. He decided to keep this little discovery to himself for a while.

Harry also wasn't content to just looking and reading about the spells in books. He wanted to practice them as well. First, he convinced healer Hygieia to get him just a 'blank' wand, basically just a wooden stick that was shaped like a wand, so he could 'practice' the wand movements. But then again, he started putting his 'intent' behind the spells as he would say them. After a while, He started getting a small glow at the end of the wand when he did the 'Lumos' spell. He really didn't have to say 'Nox' since he could only hold it for a few seconds, but each night he'd get a little better using his right hand, then his left.

One night while he was thinking about how he got his practice balls to light up, Harry sat down to his desk, and placing his arms on the desk, palms of his hands up, he wondered what would happen if he went through the same exercise, without holding on to the balls. He went deep into his mindscape were he could visualize the chamber where his core was being held. By now his magical core was full of holes where his magic was filling his body. More than half the core was still covered, but he could see all the different holes the healer had been putting in the steel barrier. He willed the magic from his core, down his arms and out to his up-turned palms. Opening his eyes, Harry saw that the magic was sitting there, pooled in his hands waiting to be commanded to do something was a small ball of golden light. 'This is very interesting' he thought to himself. 'I know the healers mentioned something about wandless magic, I wonder if this could be the start of something like that?'

Thinking of the first spell he read about, the 'Lumos' spell, he thought about the properties of the spell and what he wanted it to do. "Lumos," he said quietly, concentrating on the connection between his core and his hand. The first time it looked like a little spark flicked between his thumb and little finger. 'Well, that was close.' He thought to himself. Settling back down into what was essentially a meditative state, he concentrated on what he was trying to do. 'I need a light in my right hand… I need a light in my right hand… I need a light in my right hand…' without even saying the spell, a small ball of light started growing in his right hand. As Harry looked at his accomplishment, he knew that whatever he could think of, and believe he could do, he could achieve. (A/N Summary of Napoleon Hill – Think and Grow Rich).

The other thing Harry was doing was going into the mindscape and entering his chamber and holding his magical core to get the binding a little bit looser. What he found after a few weeks of trying is that the steel that represented the binding on his magical core could be 'heated' and 'softened'. This would allow his core to push the binding out further, making the binding thinner and easier for the healer to weaken it further. A secondary effect was that the other 'holes' that had been placed into the binding would also expand, allowing more of his magic out, which allowed Harry to do more magic, which allowed his core to grow, which would put more pressure on the remaining part of the binding (rinse and repeat). In the process of doing this, the basement below his mansion, and the mansion that containing the core had to be expanded also. One of the other items this affected was his power rating on the Merlin Power Scale. Where before his power was expected to grow at approximately 25 point per percentage of binding released, to where after one week, the power increase was 35 points per percentage of binding released (total 550); Two weeks, it was increasing at the rate of 49.5 points per percentage (total 1,149 – in to the enchanter power range); Three weeks, it was increasing at the rate of 69.5 points per percentage point the binding was removed (total 1,995); At the end of the month his amount of increase per percent of binding removed was recorded at 98.47 points per percent of binding that was removed, for a total of 3,189.

The healers couldn't believe the rate of growth in Harry's core. They estimated that at this rate, when the last of the bind was removed he would be in the low Sorcerer range (a Merlin Power Scale rating of greater than 10,000)!

Now that more than half the binding had been removed, the healers felt it would be alright to try and remove the rest of the binding basically by allowing the binding to 'rupture' by connecting some of the 'holes' they had placed in it and allow the core to do the job of pushing it out. When healer Epione talked to Harry about this he was a little afraid. He still remembered them saying that if the binding were to 'rupture', it could kill him. He talked them into waiting another five days where the binding would be down to its last third. They agreed with that, thinking that it would be best to keep Harry calm before they do something so drastic to him.

The day of the 'operation' Professor McGonagall was there to talk with Harry and the healers about what they should be expecting. Healer Epione told her how they had removed two thirds of the binding and that it seemed that Harry's core was growing at a phenomenal rate. She, and the other healers felt that now that Harry had been exposed to magic for a full month with no major ill effects. Because of the increase in his magical power, they were able to complete healing all his bones and organs far ahead of schedule. They felt it should be safe removing his last third of the binding all at once. After talking with Harry, Minerva agreed to have the procedure take place, but that she would be there to support Harry as well. That was fine with the healers as it was her right as the 'Loco parentis' for Harry.

They waited until late afternoon because they knew Harry would need to rest and recover after this. His MPS rating this morning was 4,333 – about in the middle of the Enchanter's power range. Everyone was thinking that with the last third of the binding removed, it may increase his power rating to somewhere around 7,000.

After Harry started to meditate, the healers all began to attack the binding. Harry, for his part entered his mindscape where he could watch as the healers divided the binding into four quadrants. Then focusing on one point of the binding in a given quadrant they would drew a line away for each other trying to divide the sphere in that quarter into thirds. When they got about half through the remaining binding they would stop and start on the opposite quadrant of the sphere then start the process over again. When they were done with that, they went to a third quadrant of the sphere and did the same thing. Finally, they reached the fourth quadrant of sphere.

Finishing there, they went back to the first quadrant and started again.

Harry started getting a little concerned about what was going to happen. After connecting all the lines from the four quadrants, the healer started to go over the lines again and again cutting deeper each time. Harry could hear the core start put push and strain against the remaining binding. In a moment of 'clarity' he knew the basement housing the core would not be big enough, even though it was much larger that it was when he started a month ago. With a thought, he removed the basement and the mansion above it letting the raw core be exposed to his mindscape.

That's when it happened.

Harry remembered from his primary school science class that sometime at the end of a stars life cycle it would go 'Nova' or 'Super Nova' depending on its size, well, that's just what his core did. Without the pressure of the binding to hold it back, Harry's core expanded to seven times the size it had been when still in the binding. The results were that everyone in the room with Harry was knocked down or away from him. His nice queen size bed that he had just broken in to where it felt just right was ruined; His desk, broken; His notes and school books ripped and spread throughout the room. The potions he had been working on, thrown up against the wall, were also ruined.

Alarm bells went off throughout the hospital as other healers and security guards came in to see what the matter was. When they got there, all they found were the three healers and one Hogwarts professor lying on the ground surrounding a naked little boy in the middle of the room. The real strange thing was that the naked little boy was levitating about three feet off the ground with a bright yellow glow all around him.

The other healers checked over the other people in the room, reviving them when they saw they were not injured. The security guards started to secure the papers and neutralize the potions that had spilled. Healer Epione was the first one to clear her head and saw the current condition of her patient. Thinking quickly, she conjured some pajamas for him and had another bed brought into the room. Minerva was revived and sat in a chair that had been conjured for her. She did have a bump on her head, but for what she had just experienced, she felt lucky that that was the extent of her injuries. Healer Panacea gave her a vile of headache potion, while healer Hygieia took time to reduce the size of the bump on her head.

"What in the world happened?" Was the first thing Professor McGonagall said.

"I think we may have underestimated Mr Potter's final power level a bit." Healer Epione said.

"A bit! I'd say we missed it by a country mile! I have NEVER seen a binding removal be so violent in all my life. What is his power reading now?" Professor McGonagall asked.

Healer Epione waved her wand over Harry and just stepped back. "I must be seeing this wrong. Healer Hygieia, please see what you get for Mr Potter's power reading?"

Healer Hygieia did as she was asked but also had to shake her head and sit down. "I must have done that wrong, healer Panacea? Could you please see what value you get for Mr Potter?"

Coming over the last of Harry's healers came forward and cast the power spell on Harry.

"This can't be right. What did you get?" Healer Panacea asked the other two healers.

"49,575" Healer Epione said.

"49,390" Healer Hygieia stated.

"49,760" Came healer Panacea's response.

"Oh my!" Was all Professor McGonagall could say.

Meanwhile in Harry's mindscape, he too was just recovering from the backlash of the blast. As he got up to see what was left of this little place in his mind he couldn't recognize anything. The dust was still heavy in the sky and nothing was where it was supposed to be.

As the dust settled, he could see just how much things had changed. Instead of a small area containing a series of plains, rolling hills and steep mountains around him he found a vast expanse in every direction where the plains covered with deep grasses, full grown trees of every kind that seemed to reach the sky. The river that ran through the entire mindscape looked as wide and as rapped as the Colorado River he remembered seeing in one of his Primary school geography classes. The lake it was as deep as any gorge or fjord Harry had ever seen. Even with the massive amount of water that was flowing into the lake, you could tell it would take many a day for it to be filled. The rolling hills were also covered with a thick covering of plant life, inviting for all types of predators and pray alike. Harry could not see the end of the rolling hills as it also reached the horizon.

The mountains looked to be a combination of the Swiss Alps and the entire range of the Himalayas. Large and foreboding, they appeared to send up a challenge to the world to try to conquer them. Harry wasn't sure what they represented, but he felt proud to have them be a part of his mindscape now.

Looking around for the old, broken-down mansion that use to be a part of his mindscape, Harry was more than a little surprised. There sitting in front of him was what looked to be a replica of Windsor Castle – on steroids! Everything looked to at least three times larger than it appeared in the school books Harry remembered studying. Everything was bigger, the Round Tower, the Upper ward, the South Wing and The Long Walk that he now had to take to get to the castle.

Moving at the speed of thought, Harry was soon at the castle wall. Following his instincts, he soon found himself at The Round Tower heading down to the lowest levels below the castle. There as with his other building he found his magical core. The core was still not settled down from the massive changed that had overcome it. As of right now, Harry could see that his core fit very nice and neatly within the foundation of his new castle.

Harry took some time to remap and realign how his magic would travel down the conduits he had built up to extend to all parts of his body. He knew instinctually that he would have to find some way of covering or hiding the size of his real core. He thought about placing his own binding on his core, but he wouldn't call it a binding because he still wanted his core to continue to expand. What he thought about doing was to place several layers of something that was flexible yet still could hold a shape like leather, then within the leather layers Harry would have chambers where his magic could be allowed to flow. Finally there would be a 'fake' second core that could be sensed by the users on the outside. He knew he would have to have the healers help him come up with something like that, but he thought that in the long run it would be worth it.


	7. Chapter 7 – Just what does Harry own?

Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts

Chapter 7 – Just what does Harry own?

Harry stayed asleep for the next three days. The healers would still come in every day and take his power reading and make sure he had plenty of potions for him to take. While he was in this state, it was determined that now would be a good time to take care of his blood inheritance.

A thin, bitter looking goblin entered the examination area carrying a bowl, a knife, a black quill and a roll of parchment. He did not introduce himself, but look very business-like. After setting the items down of a table, he turned to address healers and Professor McGonagall.

"It has been stated in Mr Potter's medical report, that his blood shows signs of not only his maternal mother and paternal father, but blood from the Black family and other ancient blood lines related to the Potter and Evans line. This lineage test will be used to begin an investigation as to just what lines you are related to, and what families may be involved. With the permission of his 'Loco parentis', we will take care of this while Mr Potter is still recovering. Is that correct Professor McGonagall?"

"Yes that is correct. I give my permission for this test to take place while Mr Potter is still recovering.

Stepping forward, the thin goblin took Harry by the right hand, palm up, grabbed it and then with a quick slash, cut his palm while holding it over the bowl, where it captured a good deal of blood. Suddenly the blood stopped flowing and the others in the room could see that the cut was now closed and his hand completely clean.

The blood in the bowl glowed a brilliant yellow, almost gold color while it was dropped into the bowl. "Yes, this should be enough for us to start on the inheritance of Mr Potter and all his related families." The thin goblin said. Then, taking a vile of blue liquid from his pocket, he poured the contents of the vile into the bowl which immediately started to swirl and mix itself together. The goblin then dipped the black quill into the rich, royal looking green mixture and let it sit there until it had absorbed everything within the bowl. He then took the quill out and stood it on the parchment. Letting the quill go, it began to write the genealogy of Harry. On his father's side he could see names starting to appear 'James Charles Potter', 'Charlus Edward Potter' and 'Dorea Capella Potter nee Black'. The quill continued to writing for almost an hour showing all of the other cadet lines that he was related to. Shortly after that, the writing got so light it was hard to read.

The black quill then re-positioned itself on the other side of the parchment and it continued down the 'Evans' side. Everyone in the room was more than a little surprised when the quill continued to write past Lily's name. This would indicate that she was from a squib line. After about the fifth generation, the thin goblin started taking notes of some of the names present on the parchment.

"This is most interesting. It would appear that several vaults that have been dormant will become active once more."

After almost another hour the quill again became to write so light that it was hard to read, even though it kept on writing for several more generations.

Just when everyone thought the quill had finished, the quill jumped back to the top, and drawing a dotted line from Harry's name, listed a third lineage line. The first name on the list was 'Sirius Orion Black'. Several of the people in the room took in a sharp breath at seeing that name.

The quill continued on for a few generations before it got to 'Cygnus Black' and 'Violetta Black nee Bulstrode' and then the black quill stopped writing and looked like it was going to lay itself down.

"It would appear that Sirius Black must have blood adopted young Mr Potter here. That would make him the heir presumptive should anything happen to Mr Black while he is away enjoying his stay at Azkaban."

Harry wouldn't know what was so special about this Sirius Black, or what Azkaban was, so he would have to be told at some time during his stay here at Gringotts.

Before the goblin could continue saying any else the black quill returned to the top of the roll of parchment again and started yet another line. From Harry Potter's name was another dotted line with the words 'Praedia Bellica' above it. The first name on this line of heritage was one 'Tom Marvolo Riddle'. The line went on to lists his parents as 'Tom Riddle Sr' and 'Merope Gaunt' following the line back to Salazar Slytherin. This time the quill did lay itself down to show that it was finished with the test.

"My, oh my," the thin goblin said. "It looks as if there is more than one surprise with Mr Potter now isn't there. Oh yes there is. I must get this information back to the Heredity department. There are going to be a lot of changed in the near future; yes, good for business, very good for business."

After everything was cleaned up and the thin goblin had gone saying something about further research in the College of Arms and left the hospital part of Gringotts bank.

Harry woke up in his bed. Opening his eyes he thought 'Hora Tempus Temporis' a cloud of smoke rose above his reading '13:18:27 on 11-Aug-1991'. With his eyes open, the whole world opened to him. His room was surrounded by color. Reds colors on the doors; blues and greens on the walls; ceiling and floor. He held his hands and arms out and saw a golden glow coming from his whole body.

"Ah, good you're awake now," Healer Epione said. "You are just full of surprises aren't you Mr Potter. How are you feeling?"

Harry was just stunned in how he was feeling. It was like he went in as a caterpillar and came out as a beautiful butterfly. "I don't even know if I can tell you how I feel. I can feel the magic in my body. I can SEE the magic in my body and in the room around me. I can see YOUR magic. I'll have to learn what all the different colors mean.

"I can see the power conduits in my body where my magic is being channeled through. It's simply overwhelming!"

"Harry, let's test you out on the power balls now should we?" Healer Epione went over to Harry's desk and placed ten ball in two rows of five on his desk, starting with the small apple size ball all the way up to a power ball about half again as large as a football (soccer ball to us Yankees). The healer told Harry that this last ball was the size of something called a 'basketball' but neither one of them could see how you would put any fruits or vegetables in the item.

"Now I want you to place both hands on a ball and let's see how many you can break."

Harry walked up to the table, and almost before he put his hands on the smallest ball, they were rendered to powder. The second ball he did get to touch, but as fast as you could snap your fingers, the ball was again reduced to powder. The third ball Harry did get to touch for about a second before it too was demolished. The football was the first power ball that took him more than just a second to destroy. He actually had to concentrate in pushing his magic into the ball before it broke. The last ball was of course the hardest of them all. Of course it started glowing as soon as Harry put his hands on it, but the amount of power required to crack or break this power ball would be many times more than the power required to break the football.

For the first time in the test, Harry had to search out his core and the power conduits and push as much power as he could, not only from his core, but from the other places in his body he had been pushing his magic to. Concentrating harder and harder, Harry could see the light from the power balls shining though is closed eye lids. Refusing to give up he commanded everything he could muster into breaking those power balls. For about a minute the contest went on. Just as Harry had to quite or faint from pushing all his magical energy out, he heard a slight 'crack'!

Falling to his knees, Harry was breathing hard, he was perspiring from the souls of his feet to the crown of his head. He looked up on the table to see that the right ball had a rather substantial crack in it while the left power ball just had a chip on its surface where his hand had been resting on it. Sloughing down to the floor, Harry said, "Well, I almost did it" and promptly fell back to sleep. Healer Epione put Harry back into bed to see how quickly his core could recover after it had been almost totally expended.

Master teller Slimchance had notified the healers that Mr Potter had several very important people what wanted to meet him regarding his inheritance. The healers told Master teller Slimchance that the Goblin Leaders could wait before telling Mr Potter what they had. He had just gotten to a point where his magical core was unbound and he now had to learn how to control and apply his power. In other words; He'll be there when WE say he's ready to be there, not you.

It took Harry most of the next two weeks to learn how to control, manage, and even 'hide' the amount of power he had. He was told that when he first woke up he basically had seen his magic with no controls on it. That, for lack of a better word, he was running 'full throttle open' as his cousin Dudley would say. They explained to him that to do that for very long would literally burn him out after a few hours or days. They had to show Harry how to put his own 'control binding on not only his core, but the power conduits he had created as well. They showed him how he could direct where the magical power was being sent to and how he could use more or less as the spell or assignment required. Harry worked on this very hard. He now understood that the healers weren't the only ones who could tell how powerful a witch or wizards were.

Also during this time, Harry had some time where he could meet with a mind healer. Someone he could talk to about his time at the Dursleys and start getting a handle on his feeling towards them. He still hated them for the way they treated him, but he was able to see the difference between the person and the actions the person did. For all his trying, Harry could NEVER find anything good to say about his cousin Dudley or his uncle Vernon.

As far as studies went, Harry had read all the First through Third level book that Professor McGonagall had given him, but he really only knew the First level book by heart.


	8. Chapter 8 – Escape to Diagon Alley

Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts

Chapter 8 – Escape to Diagon Alley (25-Aug-1991)

Before Harry could be released from the Hospital, he had to be given one more physical to make sure everything had been fixed. The report read as follows:

 **Patient:** Harry James Potter

 **Physical Age** : 11 years, 0 months, 25 day

 **Actual Age** : Mr Potter now has the body of an eleven year old, with all bones and organs fix in the upper 95 percentile of the children in his age group.

 **Current diagnosis:** All of the signs of abuse and malnutrition in Mr Potter have been eliminated.

 **Soul Fragment** : The soul fragment behind Mr Potter's scar has been removed. Mr Potter shows no ill effects of having the soul fragment attached. He also shows no ill effect of having the soul fragment removed.

 **Magical Potential and Reserves** : According to the standard 'Merlin Power Scale' (MPS) where the standard 11 year old male student entering Hogwarts is '100', Mr Potter scores a 350. Meaning that we should expect Mr Potter to perform all spell required for a first year student beginning Hogwarts this year.

(The following section is magically encoded so that only a healer who has signed an agreement with Gringotts, or Mr Potters 'Loco Parentis' can read the following.)

 _Mr Potter's true power level as rated by the 'Merlin Power Scale' (MPS) is in the range of 49,000 to 65,000, a mid-level Sorcerer. The reason for the wide variance is due to the removal of a powerful bind that had been placed on Mr Potter at the age of three by Mr A.P.W.B. Dumbledore. Had this core binding remained on Mr Potter's core that is a very good possibility that Mr Potter would not be alive today._

 _It is the opinion of the healers at Gringotts that Mr A.P.W.B. Dumbledore should have limited access to Mr Potter. It is clear that the goals of Mr A.P.W.B. Dumbledore are NOT in the best long term interest of Mr Potter._

 _If required, this document and evidence of malpractice in the case of Mr A.P.W.B. Dumbledore can be released with a properly executed summons by the Wizarding Ministry of Magic or the Wizarding ICW. Mr A.P.W.B. Dumbledore will no longer enjoy favored status within any of the walls of ANY Gringotts location._

(End of encoded section)

 **Blood Status:** In examining Mr Potter's blood we find that he should be considered a pure-blood.

He shows magical inheritance from Potter, Evans, and Black blood, with evidence of other ancient blood-lines via the Potter and Evans line. It has been proven beyond any doubt that Lily Evans was from a squib line and is not mundane-born as previously suspected. The presents of Black blood in Mr Potter's body shows there was adoption of Mr Potter by Lord Black. Mr Potter is considered by Gringotts as the heir presumptive of the House of Black should anything happen to Lord Black while he is being held illegally in Azkaban.

(The following section is magically encoded so that only legal counsel who has signed an agreement with Gringotts, or Mr Potters 'Loco Parentis' can read the following.)

 _It has been discovered that Mr Potter could rightfully claim nearly all magical titles due to the inbreeding however, in MOST cases; there is a more direct claimant than Mr Potter. The main exceptions to this statement are with the lines of the Hogwarts founders (Gryffindor and Ravenclaw through the Potter line; Hufflepuff through the Evans line and the_ _Slytherin_ _line by right of conquest). He is also the heir and Lord to the family Peverell and the Most Ancient and Most Noble Houses of Myrddin Emrys and Morgan le Fay. As a result of this discovery, the first nine vaults in Gringotts will be accessible to Mr Potter as soon as he ascends to his Lordship in ANY of the houses he is eligible for._

 _It would be the recommendation of Gringotts that Mr Potter should claim his right as Lord Potter since he is the last of the Ancient and Noble House of Potter and has reached the age of eight or greater. It will be left up to his 'Loco Parentis' to advise Mr Potter in this matter. He could then claim the other Lordships of the other seven houses, but hold them secret until such time as it is needed to make them public. There are currently a total of five goblin accountant teams updating the accounts of these previously closed vaults. It is hoped that a full accounting of the contents and values of the vaults may be ready by the winter break of this year._

(End of encoded section)

 **Mind Health** : Mr Potter has had all obliviation and other blocks on his memory removed. Mr Potter as also met with a mind healer to help him deal with the trauma as a result of this action, and of the poor treatment he received at the hands of his aunt, uncle and cousin.

 **Other issues:** Mr Potter finds it is easier to communicate with adults than children at or about his age. We are hoping that as Mr Potter associates with more people his own age he will be able to communicate with them in a more consistent manner.

 **Conclusion:** Mr Potter is now ready to attend Hogwarts as a regular student. It is hoped that he will continue to grow and become a respected member of society.

End of Medical report for Mr Harry James Potter.

With that out of the way, Professor McGonagall took Harry to the goblin inheritance office to have Harry installed as the current Lord Potter as well as the other Lords that he is the head of. In becoming a Lord Potter he automatically becomes emancipated, meaning he has no reason for a 'Loco Parentis', however, Harry still feels that he need the help of an older, wiser person than himself and so he asked Professor McGonagall if she would consent to be his 'Consiliarius Parentalis' (Parental Counselor). She agrees if for no other reason than to keep Headmaster Dumbledore applying for the position himself.

Professor McGonagall also tells Harry that she will not be at her flat in Highlands of Scotland. She suggested that he get a room at the Leaky Caldron where he could stay uninterrupted until it was time to go to Kings Cross Station on 01-Sep-1991. With that, she gives Harry another hug and tells him that she expects to see him at Hogwarts in the first, or he will be in BIG trouble.

Having only one week until Harry had to report to the Hogwarts Express, he found that he still had many things yet to buy.

Harry had contacted the Grangers to see if Hermione had already purchased her item. They responded that yes, she had, but that she had run out of reading material and was trying to convince her parents in to take her back to Diagon Alley to get her more book and things to read. She convinced her parents that she was the ONLY person that could help Harry get the rest of the things he needed to go to Hogwarts. The agreed to meet at the Leaky Cauldron at 10:00AM on 25-Aug-1991.

Upon meeting the Grangers, Hermione couldn't believe her eyes. Where before there was a four foot nothing, forty pound waif of a boy; now stood a five foot three inches, one hundred twenty pound handsome young man.

"Harry what happened to you? You don't look like yourself anymore?" Hermione asked.

"Sure Hermione, this is how I was supposed to look if not for the nine and a half years of neglect from my 'loving' family. It's taken the healers at Gringotts over a month using the best magic and potions in the world to get me looking like this. But that's not why we're here today, we're he to go shopping."

At the sound of the 'S' word, Hermione wanted to immediately go to Flourish and Blotts Booksellers as soon as she got into Diagon Alley to see if she could buy all the books she didn't have yet. Harry however needed to by a trunk first.

"Why do you need a trunk Harry?"

"This may seem silly Hermione, but I currently don't have anything to put my books or other items in. So I'll need to go to a trunk shop first before I can go with you at Flourish and Blotts Booksellers."

"Oh, I guess that makes sense. I just give all my purchases to my Daddy had let him carry them for me."

"Well, that would be nice, but I don't have any parents to do that for me, and I wouldn't want to over burden your father with everything I'll be buying today. Why don't you get started with the book store first, I'm sure there are a lot of areas that aren't covered in the first years books."

"Alright Harry, but hurry will you. I have so many things I want to look at today."

As stated previously, Harry's first stop was at a trunk store.

Going down the street in Diagon Alley, Harry found a trunk maker store: H.J. Cave, Fine trunks since 1839. Going in the store, a small bell rang in the back of the shop, letting the proprietor that a customer was waiting.

"Good day kind sir, what may I help you with?" Asked the elderly gentleman.

"I am looking for a special trunk that will last me a life time if I may sir."

"You look a little young to be looking for such a serious purchase. Are you even going to Hogwarts young man?"

"I start this year, but I have feel that money well spent on quality always win out over quantity."

Harry convinced the older gentleman, Mr Henry J. Cave to show him a selection of the trunks he had in the store. He of course started out with the standard Hogwarts school trunk. A single chambered trunk with minor expansion charms on them where you could store all your standard school supplies. Then he moved up to the more expensive 'senior' Hogwarts school trunk. This trunk had three compartments with a more advanced expanding charms on them so that the student could keep more of the items he had 'acquired' during their Hogwarts days. These seemed to be very popular with the fifth years and up.

Next were the family model trunks. Some of these where equipped so that they could be attached to a broom, or if the family had some mundane relations, they could even put them in one of those 'Automobiles'. The trunks had anywhere from two to six chambers that could be designed anyway the user wanted them. These trunks are even spelled so they can fit in the back of these 'Automobiles' regardless of how much room is still left in them.

Finally Mr Cave showed him what he said was his finest work. As he pulled back a display curtain, Harry saw the most beautiful trunk in the world. Rich, hand rubbed burl walnut exterior with what looked like at least twenty coats of hard lacquer on it. Thick leather straps to support and highlight the piece. Heavy duty brass handles, trims and fittings to ensure it can take the hard traveling if required. But most impressively was the gold embossed name of "POTTER" on the top of the trunk.

"Old man Potter commissioned this trunk almost twelve years ago. He paid have of the 120,000 galleons it cost to build. I finished it the day 'He-who-must-not-be-named' killed him and his wife. Their only child was only in the fifth year of Hogwarts, so I just forgot to get with him after he graduated.

"This is a special trunk. I put on EVERY protection charm I could think of at the time and even a few that were just experimental at the time. There are a total of nine chambers in the trunk, all expanded as much as I could. It's fully furnished with item ol' Charles took right out of his family vault. That alone makes this a priceless piece. There's only one Potter left, and no one's heard hide nor hair from him since his parents were killed. What I wouldn't give if I could present that young man some that belonged to his family. It might bring him closer to them if he had something of theirs."

Harry had to turn from Mr Cave while he was explaining about his Grandfather's trunk. When he finally got his emotions under control he looked back to Mr Cave, and pulling his hair up off his scar said, "Sir, I would be more than willing to pay you the full 120,000 galleons if I could have my Grandfather's trunk. Think of it as a 'storage fee' for keeping the trunk and other items here in your shop for so long." Try as he might, Harry could not keep the tears out of his eyes as he talked to Mr Cave. When Mr Cave realized just who it was he had been talking to all this time he too got a bit teary eyed and gave Harry the first hug he had experienced that wasn't from a healer or Professor McGonagall.

After showing Harry how the trunk operated and how he could key himself or his friends into the trunk, he handed him the operations manual, showed him how to shrink it down to where it would fit in his pocket, and refused any payment from him. He said the whole wizarding world owed him a debt for getting rid of 'You-know-who' last time and it was his pleasure to be able to unite this trunk with the real owner. He also convinced Harry to call for one of the Potter family house elves so that he would have someone that could help him learn more about his family and help him if he happened to get stuck in the trunk at any time.

Harry called for a house elf and was greeted by Sassy. A female elf that would be at about the same relative age and would be able to help Harry in his tasks of learning about all the houses he was now Lord over, however, the one that Sassy would help him with would be for the House of Potter.

After another tearful hug and words to keep in touch, Harry took his new trunk and hurried to Flourish and Blotts Booksellers before Hermione bought too many book for her father to carry.

Harry was a little happy and a little sad when he finally got to the book store. He told Hermione and her parents how he had just come into possession of a school trunk his Grandfather had commissioned even before he was born. Hermione was thrilled to hear the story and wanted to have a grand tour right there in the middle of the store. But Harry and her parents thought that that might not be a very good idea right now.

As Harry and Hermione continued to shop for book, Dan, Hermione's father asked him where he was planning on staying now that he was out of the hospital. Harry thought for a moment and said "I guess I can stay at the Leaky Cauldron until it's time to go to King's Cross Station. It's not that far."

Dan told Harry that they had a spare room, and he would be more than welcome to come back with them these last few days. He could keep Hermione company and help her get through the mountain of books she had just purchased. Reluctantly Harry agreed. Hermione was beside herself! She would actually have someone to talk about this new world of magic with her; she just couldn't wait. Harry wondered what he had gotten himself into. He still wasn't really talking to children his own age, he could do it if he were forced to, but non-stop, the way Hermione was going on? He didn't know about that.

Harry just had a few more stops in Diagon Alley before getting a quick lunch at the Leaky Caldron, then on to the Grangers.

First was Madam Malkin's Robes for All Occasions where he got his Hogwarts uniform to fit his now healed body. He was also able to get a few pants, shoes and shirts for everyday wear there as well.

Then to the Apothecary where he could load up on more than just the ingredients he would need for his first year class. He'd purchased all seven years' worth of books for all Hogwarts subjects. Why just settle for only working on first year potions?

Next came Eeylop's Owl Emporium where Harry felt drawn to a snowy white owl in the back of the shop. "Be careful with that one sonny! She'll bit your finger to spite your face she will! That one doesn't let anyone next to her!" Harry just turned from the yelling shop keeper back to the white owl and lifted his arm up. To nearly everyone's surprise, the temperamental owl hopped on the outstretched arm and, hopping up to Harry's shoulder, started to head-bump, then rub her head against her new masters. "I think I'll take this one sir." Harry said almost cheekily. After purchasing all the supplies they would need for the new owl, they headed to the one store he was really looking forward to going to. Ollivanders!

Ollivanders! Harry was going to get his wand!

One of the biggest thrills in Harry life was when he finally got to go to Ollivanders to get his own wand. After what Harry thought was too much trial and error, he finally had HIS wand, 11in, made of holly with a phoenix feather core; the brother wand of the one that gave him his scare.

At this point in time Harry didn't really care about the dark lord that had everyone so afraid of him that they couldn't even say his name… I mean, it's probably a made-up name to begin with.


	9. Chapter 9 – A Tour of a Trunk

Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts

A/N some of this chapter came from a fan fiction I previously wrote called 'Essences of Lily Revised'. I gave myself permission to use the text. The concept of the 9 chamber trunk is originally from **RossWrock** epic story ' **Harry Potter and the Power of Time** ' (https:  .net s 1657629 1 Harry-Potter-and-the-Power-of-Time – replace the spaces with '/'). Permission was asked to use this item, but no response was received. If I receive a response to the negative, I will rework the story.

Chapter 9 – A Tour of a Trunk. (25-Aug-1991)

Before Harry knew it, it was time for lunch and the Leaky Cauldron. They requested to eat in one of the private rooms Tom had so there would be less of a chance to have Harry seen in public.

After ordering, and while in the private room, Harry keyed the Granger family so they could get into and out of his trunk. Now it was time to show Hermione the features of his Grandfather's trunk.

"In the **first chamber** you will find what looks like a standard clothes rack and drawers. But the space inside is practically endless, and will allow the user to store an unlimited amount of clothes in it.

"To get a desired item from the clothes rack, you just have to think of the style or outfit you want to wear, and the trunk will bring it to the front of the chamber. It's like each person having their own walk-in closet, and a personal valet to dress you each morning. The same thing with the drawers, you can put as much as you want in to the drawers and they will sort themselves."

"The garments and other items in the drawers are kept clean and in good repair by a self-cleaning / repairing spell when you return the items back into the drawer or closet."

"The **second chamber** is where 'school supplies' are kept. This would be book, parchment, quails, brooms, and so forth that I would need while at school. There is also a 'port' on one of the bookshelves where a request can be made regarding a resource book, and if that resource book is in the trunk's Library, it will be returned to this bookshelf. To return the Library book, just set the book back on the shelf, and say 'Return' as you touch the shelf with your wand."

"The **third chamber** is the main library and study hall." When Harry opened the third chamber, Hermione was surprised to see a small archway expand out of the trunk inviting them to enter. "This can be keyed to where only those who have been granted access can see the arch. It will be important to make sure I'm careful in how I uses some of these different chambers so that it does not draw too much attention to me or else it could appear that I just 'disappears' when I enters some of these rooms."

Harry brought the entire Granger family down into this part of the trunk. As they entered this chamber, it was as if they had entered a room that looked a great deal like the library at Hogwarts (but they didn't know that yet) – with the exception that it was about ten times larger. At the front of the library, where the librarian's check-out desk would be was a pedestal with a large tome on it. Two small book carts were on either side of the pedestal.

"It would seem that the Potters have always encouraged the need for constant learning, and as such have an extensive library of books covering almost all subjects, even some of the now called 'Darker' subjects. It seems that my predecessors' felt that it was the 'intent' behind the spell, and not the spell or charm its self that made something 'Dark'. I have been thinking that I should probable go down to Gringotts and get ALL the books and scrolls copied and put them in here, in case someone gets into the vaults, and removes some of the more 'interesting' items." Harry said.

Turning to the pedestal, Harry pointed to the large tome.

"If you have a new book or scroll that you want 'checked into' the library, you will place it on one of these carts, touch the book or scroll with your wand, and then touch the master book while saying 'addo carta' (add book). The master book – or master index, is charmed to scan through the book or scroll being added, and cross referencing it with all the other books and scrolls in the library. This will also include any text that may be hidden or encrypted in the volume.

If the master book does not understand the language or encryption to begin with, it will make note of it, and continue working on the problem until it learns it. After the master book has classified the scroll or book, it will file it in the most appropriate main subject area in the library."

"To get a specific book from the library, you can go and look for it (not recommended unless you know right where to go and want the exercise), or you can touch the master book with your wand and say 'accire carta' followed by the name of the book (fetch book [book name])."

"If you do want to go to the location of the book in the library, you can say 'positus carta' and then the name of the book you are looking for. A map will appear on the cover of the master book to show where you are and where the book is."

"If you want to search a subject, you can say 'accire subjunctus pri' then the subject name. This will return just the books and scrolls that contain basic information on the subject; for more advanced information, 'accire subjunctus aggredior' then the subject name; or your could ask for everything on the subject by saying 'accire subjunctus totus' followed by the subject name. Be very careful what you ask to get EVERYTHING on, you may get more then you expect."

"To see what books are in the library, hold your hand or your wand on the master book and say 'ostendo' and then the subject name. Then open the master book to the first page and a list of all of the books relating to that subject will be shown. When you see the book you want, place your finger or wand on the entry and say 'accire carta'. The master book will know which book you are referring to and will retrieve that book."

"If you want a summary of the book, say 'collectionis' and the book entry will expand to include a summary of the books / or scrolls content.

If you get more books and scrolls then you need, or you want to return to the beginning of the master book to start a new search, simply put the extra books on the carts, touch your wand or your hand on the master book and say 'Return'.

Hermione was thrilled at the extent of the library system, and what it could hold. Her eyes were going wide, and she was looking like a little schoolgirl again with a new toy – well, she was a little girl with a new toy.

After dragging Hermione and her mother Jane out of the library, they went on to the next chamber.

"This next chamber, **chamber four** is for physical and magical training. You can see that there is a track to run around, mats to practice falling and tumbling, some free weights for lifting, and a dueling platform with training dummies that can be programmed from beginner level through senior Auror, hit wizard, unspeakable special agent, and assassin. Whenever you step onto the dueling platform, a protective dome will be activated protecting the rest of the contents or people in the room."

"The last object over at the edge of the room is a Power Meter Target trap. This has two modes: stationary, and mobile. In its stationary mode, this trap will measure the strength of the spell, hex, jinx, or charm that hits it, with the exception of the unforgivable spells."

"In mobile mode, it tests for strength and accuracy, so you will see two scores above the box; the first on will be the power rating of the spell with a rating from 1 to 99,999. The next will be a percentage of contact with a range from 1 percent to 100 percent."

"It can also act as a training probe that can fire back stinging hexes just to make sure you are staying alert. To stay on the safe side, the stinging hex will never be powered above 350. That is still enough to raise a welt, and hopefully, get your attention. There are a total of ten of these traps in the training room, not that I think anyone could go against more than three on their highest setting, but more than one person can train at a time."

"This next chamber, **chamber five** is my favorite, and also the chamber that causes me the most pain. Please close your eyes as we go through the next portal."

Hermione wasn't too thrilled about closing her eyes as Harry led her through to the next chamber. She didn't want to miss something in the middle of this tour.

"Okay, you're in the next room. Open your eyes now."

Hermione and her family looked up not knowing what to expect. What they saw took their breath away.

They were currently standing in the foyer of a grand manor.

Directly in front of them was a spiral staircase that led up to the main living/sleeping quarters. Directly behind the staircase was the entrance to the Grand room that opened out to a veranda. While still in the foyer, on your right was the formal dining area and a training area behind and to the side of the room. On the left side of the foyer was an office / den, and another training area.

Just past the spiral staircase on the right was the kitchen, informal dining area, living room, and a breakfast / morning nook.

Off the left of the spiral staircase was one of the two Master bedroom suites.

Upstairs held the second Master bedroom suite, and eight additional bedrooms, each with their own walk in closets, and full bathrooms. There was also a galley that looked over the Grand room, a Library, main training area, and a mundane game room.

Everything was fully furnished, and functional.

Hermione couldn't believe her eyes.

Harry said, "This is a replica of one of the Potter manors in upper Scotland. This is where I would have grew up if my parents were still alive.

"Harry, what happened?" Jane asked.

"According to Mr Cave, the manor this is a copy of was where Voldemort attacked and killed my Grandparents. My father was just a fifth year in Hogwarts so he wasn't here. They say he leveled the manor to the ground. It was the same day Mr Cave finished this trunk."

Everyone stopped for a moment to pay respect to those who had paid the ultimate price in that civil war.

After a few moments, Harry regained his composure, and suggested they finish the tour of the trunk.

 **Chamber six** was set up to be a Potions area, and if needs be an infirmary.

There were a total of ten potion stations; so many things could be going on at once. The storage area for the raw materials was immense, and the area for the finished product was lined with wall-to-wall stasis cabinets, so that the potions would not go bad after being brewed.

Hermione again started to act like a kid in the candy store. She had read all her potion books by now had had just been waiting to try making some. Her parents wouldn't let her because they didn't want to have any explosions or melting cauldrons in the kitchen when they were away. This way, with Harry permission, she could try to make her potions here, without the worry of destroying half the house at a time.

Dragging Hermione and Jane from the Potions area into chamber number 7 was quite fun for Dan and Harry.

 **Chamber seven** was a wooded glen that spread out in all directions for about a quarter of a mile in each direction.

There was a large meadow with a stream running through it. There were also trees, scrubs, and bushes to support all manner of birds and small animals.

They couldn't spend much time there, they knew that they had to finish the tour quickly before Tom came in with their lunch and found the private room empty.

 **Chamber eight** was set aside for the performing of rites and rituals.

Runes were drawn on all of the surfaces of the room to aid in the rite and rituals that the person was performing. One of the unique features of this room was that if you invoked the correct runes, in the proper order, time, as you knew it basically came to a standstill.

Harry said that of all the room, this was the one he understood the least. He said that in the operations manual, it explained some of the limitations of this room to Everyone: "For every day that would pass outside of this room and this room only, one month would pass in the chamber."

"However, due to the strain that amount of compressed time would put on the human psyche, the room can only be activated for eight (8) hours in a twenty-four hour period. That would translate into ten (10) days in compressed time for each eight hours of 'normal' time. That means that for every 48 minutes in 'normal' (outside) time it is the equivalent of one 24-hour day in compressed time in this chamber."

"The operation manual says that you have to plan very carefully if you were going to spend a great deal of time in here. You would have to bring in all of your own housing (a wizarding tent or other structure), sleeping mats or bags, food, clothes, books, and toiletries, everything you would need. But the house-elves seem to be able to travel between 'normal' time and 'compressed' time without any ill effects, so they can always bring you what you forgot. Or, of course you could end the time suspension ritual at any time."

"There are two sets of clocks and calendars in the chamber to tell the person inside what the actual time and date was outside of the chamber, and when they were to wake up, eat, and go to sleep."

"While you were in the chamber, you will age at the 'normal' time rate, and not the 'compress' time rate."

"Here is an additional book that is restricted to the ritual chamber – it cannot be taken out of the room that explained all the runes, along with the rites, and rituals that could be performed while in there. Now let's go on and finish the tour."

The last chamber ( **chamber number nine** ) was just an empty room that was again about one quarter of a mile in all directions. This was meant for future growth and expansion, or other development that may arise.

Anything could be put down here. With the right supplies, you could install a greenhouse to grow your own food, or potion plants. You could use it as a place to fly a broom to help alleviate boredom (but you could do that in the forest glen area or in the quidditch field behind that manor). You could even put in holding cells if you so desired. This was a general purpose room to meet whatever need you may have.

Coming out of the trunk, Grangers could not believe how much forethought Harry's Grandparents had put into the trunk. It would have been the perfect place to 'hide' and do all your homework. Or if you got really tired, you could go into chamber eight and get a few extra hours or days of sleep if you really needed it.

"Harry, how do you shrink it back down?" Hermione asked.

"Normally, you would just put your hand on it and say 'deductus'. That would reduce it to the size of a deck of playing cards. But if want it even smaller, you use 'deductus maximus' to shrink it."

Just then Tom came in with their lunch and they set down and had a very enjoyable time before heading home.


	10. Chapter 10 – Home with the Grangers

Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts

Chapter 10 – Home with the Grangers. (25-Aug-1991 through 01-Sep-1991)

Dan and Jane Granger lived in a nice area of Cornwall in what some Americans might have called a 'McMansion'. Upper middle class with plenty of space for a small front yard, but large and spacious back yard complete with an in-ground swimming pool. The yard was completely private thanks to a three meter solid wooden fence.

The Grangers pulled into their three car garage in the family's Jaguar XJ-6 sedan with an extra person in the car at this time. Harry Potter. In no time the entire family and Mr Potter were in the house, putting away all the items they had purchased in Diagon Alley and the Greater London area.

Hermione took Harry by the hand and pulled him upstairs to show him where he could place his thing in their guest room while he was staying with them for this week prior to them heading off to Kings Cross station and the children's departure to Hogwarts for the next ten months. As Hermione showed Harry the room she remarked, "I guess you really don't need a room like this if you have your Grandfather's trunk now do you?"

Instead of talking to her, Harry just lowered his head and shook it. "What's wrong Harry? Why don't you say anything?" Hermione was confused. Harry seemed to talk just fine when here parents were around, but now when it was just the two of them, he didn't say a word. "Is something the matter Harry?" she asked. "Do you need my parents to take you back to the hospital for something?" Again Harry just hung his head and shook it 'No'. "Then what's the matter?" she asked, this time putting her hands on her hips, showing that she was getting a little frustrated. Harry this time looked out the door of his room as if looking for someone, or waiting for someone else to come in. "You wait right there Harry, I'm going to go get my mum to see if you can talk to her." Hermione was out the door before she could see the look of relief that was on his face knowing an adult was on their way here.

As Mrs Jane Granger came in to the room followed shortly by her daughter, they that Harry hadn't moved except to be sitting on the bed. "What's the matter Harry?" Mrs Granger asked calmly. Immediately Harry looked up at her and answered quietly. "Ma'am for the last better part of a month I have been surrounded by only adults. It took me quite some time to be able to talk to them. Now that I'm here with your family," (as he took a good hard look at Hermione), "I'm finding it hard to talk with someone my own age. I think it will just take time for me to get use to speaking to you daughter."

"You do know I'm standing right here don't you Harry?" Hermione asked.

Lowering his head again he answered quietly, "Yes, but it's just that with my other family I hadn't spoken for the last three years because if I said anything, they would kill me."

Both Hermione and Mrs Granger were shocked at this declaration. "What do you mean they said they would kill you Harry?" Mrs Granger asked with real concern in her voice.

Gathering the rest of the family around him, Harry gathered up all the courage he could find, He was about to do the one thing the Gringotts mind healer had told him to do; to talk about his past troubles with the Dursley family with someone (or someone's) he felt he could trust. The mind healer felt that this was one of the main issues holding Harry back from fully recovering from his traumatic experience.

For the rest of the evening Jane, Dan, and Hermione just listened to Harry's story of pain and mistreatment. At the end of the session, all of the Grangers gathered him up in a warm, kind, loving hug. There was not a dry eye in the room. Harry felt the beginning of a huge weight being lifted off his soul. He had found someone he could trust, and in return, felt that they loved him for who he was and not for something in the past that he had no memory of.

After putting Harry and Hermione to bed, Dan and Jane stayed up a few more hours wondering how they could make this special young man's life a little better after all he had been through. It was decided that they would have to get in touch with Professor McGonagall to see how someone went about adopting a magical person in the mundane world.

26-Aug-1991 Cornwall.

The next morning broke clear and bright in Cornwall. As the Granger house slowly stated to move Harry found himself sleeping in another strange bed that he was not aware of. Surprising to himself this was the first time he felt fully rested without having some potion sitting in front of him waiting for him to take with his breakfast. Gathering a fresh change of clothes, he decided to see everything in his new trunk worked properly. Enlarging the trunk and entering into chamber 5 (main mansion), Harry found one of the many bathrooms and ended up taking a very long shower. Upon exiting his trunk, he found Hermione in his room waiting for him to come out. "I thought you might be in there so I just thought I'd wait for a minute. Mum and Dad say that breakfast is ready if you'd like to eat with us." Still feeling a little shy when he was around just Hermione, he shook his head 'Yes' and followed her down to the dining room.

"Good morning Hermione, Harry. How are you feeling this morning? Mrs Granger asked.

"Fine mum, Harry was in his trunk taking his shower" Hermione answered.

"Well rested thank you Mrs Granger," was Harry's reply.

"Just how do you know Harry was in his trunk taking a shower young lady? Is there something you'd like to tell your father and me?"

Hermione blushed a deep red when she thought about how that last statement must have sounded. "No mum, I just saw him coming out of his trunk freshly showered and fully dressed when I went in to get him."

Both Dan and Jane laughed at their daughter's response. "That's fine Hermione. Now come in and have a sit and eat."

After a filling breakfast, the Granger parents turned to face both Hermione and Harry. "We have something we'd like to talk to both of you about."

At first Harry was concerned that the Granger's would not like to have him stay at their home with all the problems he had discussed with them the night before, but a quick movement from Mrs Granger reaching over the table and placing a kind, loving hand over his soon had his sitting a bit less concerned.

"Harry," Dan Granger started, "We know that you have Professor McGonagall to watch you in the wizarding world, but we were wondering if you had anyone to watch out for you in the regular world?"

Harry had to stop and think about that for a minute. Professor McGonagall said that she was his guardian in both the magical and mundane world, but he wondered just how much time she'd have to spend with him on a regular base. "I not quite sure sir, Professor McGonagall is currently my guardian in both the magical and mundane world, but I'm not sure how much time she's going to have for me during the summer months. I know her position of Deputy Headmistress takes up a great deal of her time. She was able to take one day off when she first took me away from the Dursleys, but after that I went back to Gringotts and spent most of my time with the healers there. She did try to come by every so often or when they were going to do a major procedure. I really appreciate her for the time she has spent with me, but I don't know how much time she'll have for me in the future."

"That's just about what we were expecting. Harry, have you given any idea where you would be spending your winter or spring breaks while you are at Hogwarts?"

Harry just hung his head down and said, "No sir, I just thought I'd be staying at Hogwarts."

"Well, Harry, Jane and I have been thinking about this a great deal since we've met you, and we'd like to know if you'd like to be able to call our home your home also."

Hermione took in a sharp breath while Harry's head shot up looking at the adult Grangers.

"Do you mean it sir, ma'am. You've just met me. How can you be so sure you'd want me to be a part of your family?"

"You can call it a parent's intuition, or maybe we just have a soft spot in our hearts for someone who has grown up without love and yet seems to have grown into such a find young man. Besides, it would be someone to keep an eye out after Hermione when she is away in some cold, dark, dank castle thousands of miles away from us. It would make us just feel better to know that the two of you were watching over each other.

"I… I don't know sir, ma'am. I'm sure you would have to talk to talk to Professor McGonagall about this before anything is done."

"That's what we thought also," said Mrs Granger. She then took a letter that had been lying on the counter and held it up to show both Hermione and Harry. On the letter you could clearly see the name 'Professor Minerva McGonagall, Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry' on the front of the envelop. "We were hoping we could use that beautiful owl of yours to send this to her to see when we could meet with her."

Without even thinking, Harry raised his arm just in time to see the snow white owl come gliding down from the second floor where she had been in Harry's room. She landed gracefully on his arm and gave him a hoot and a head-butt before looking down at his plate at an unfinished rasher of bacon. Harry, taking the hint, held the remain piece of bacon up to the owl who greed fully consumed it.

"That is quite a remarkable owl Harry, how did she know you wanted her." Mrs Granger was just looking at the owl with surprise in her eyes.

"I'm not quite sure ma'am, I think I read somewhere that a person's familiar will know when the person wants them and will come to them if at all possible."

"Well that is quite amazing. Have you named her yet?"

"Yes ma'am. Her name is Hedwig I think of her as my white winged battle maiden from some old Germanic tells some of the healers were telling me about."

"Well, I think that's a fine name for her. Do you think she would take this letter to Professor McGonagall for us this morning?"

Harry and Hedwig looked at each other. Hedwig just hooted and bobbed her head once before looking back at the letter.

"Alright then," Dan replied, "why don't we just put a bit of string around the letter and tie it to one of her feet and send her on her way then."

This time it was more like a squawk that Hedwig let out had she hopped down to the table, hopped over to where Mrs Granger was holding the letter, took it out of her hand with her beak, and hopped back to Harry's shoulder.

"I guess that answers that then doesn't it." Harry said to the rest of the group. Standing up he and the rest of the group went out into the back yard into the fresh clean morning air. Harry looked at his owl and spoke to her, "Could you please take this letter to Professor Minerva McGonagall, Deputy Headmistress of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry? Please wait for a reply if she has time to give you one now. If not, please return here. You can hunt for your own food on the way back if you want to." With another bob of her head, Hedwig launched off Harry's arm and quickly disappeared from sight in the morning sky.

"I didn't know an owl could fly so fast!" Hermione said.

"You have to remember Hermione; these are special _magical_ owls we're talking about." Mr Granger replied. "Well, I have to get ready to go into the clinic today. I'm going to give Jane some time where she can get to know you a little bit better if you don't mind Harry?"

"I think that would be great sir, I'd like to get to know everyone here better also." came Harry's reply.

 **Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry:**

Minerva McGonagall was going over all the last minute items that always came up at the very last minute before the start of schools. 'Why couldn't Albus take care of some of these items?' She asked herself, 'He is the Headmaster of the school after all.'

One of the more painful letters she had to write that day was to tell Xenophilius Lovegood that his daughter, Luna, could not attend Hogwarts this year, even if her date of birth was 02-Sep. No exceptions could be made. She would just have to wait until next year to attend the school.

As she was working away on the pile of correspondence before her, she heard a tapping on her window. This, she found, was very unusual. The castle had many strong wards around it. One of those wards was to make sure any mail sent to a teacher at Hogwarts would be sent to the Owlery, where one of the house elves would remove the letter and deliver it to the proper person. That would mean that whoever sent this owl, as well as the owl itself, must be very powerful.

With a wave of her wand the window to her office opened and the snowy white owl landed on her desk with a mundane envelop in its beak. Holding the message up for her to take it, Professor McGonagall's curiosity was peaked. Upon opening the letter, she found her eye brows heading towards her hair line. "They want to adopt him already? She spoke out loud. Hearing a hoot from the owl, she looked to find its head bobbing up and down 'Yes'. Surprised at the owl's action, she asked it another question. "Would they be good for him?" Again the owl hooted and bobbed its head up and down. "Would he be good for them?" The owl in front of her now looked a little put out when she repeated the same motion.

"Well technically Lord Potter does not need a guardian in either the magical or mundane worlds since he has been emancipated, but I'm sure it would give him a feeling that he belonged to someone if the Grangers were to adopt him. I assume you are here to take a message back to Lord Potter and the Grangers?" The snow white owl just stood there in front of the Deputy Headmistress and bobbed her head up and down. "Very well then, let me reply with a missive and we'll plan on meeting with Lord Potter and the Grangers at around 8:00pm this evening. Will that give you enough time to get back to them?"

Professor McGonagall received a look from the owl that suggested that she had just said the most stupid thing in the world. She was sure the owl was saying to her; 'Of course I can get this message back to my master in time. What type of an owl do you take me for?'

Professor McGonagall completed here missive and handed it to the owl. "I hope you and Ms Granger's owl, because if you belong to Lord Potter we may be having problems with you my young lady. The white owl just took the letter from her and again gave her a look as if to say 'I am my Master's and my Master is mine,' before taking off out the window, leaving a small 'present' on the Deputy Headmistress' desk.

'Cheeky little bird!' she thought and she cleaned up the mess. She thought she could hear a 'squawk' from her still open window and thought, 'Oh, I'm going to have trouble with that one I can tell,' as she flicked her wand again and closed her window.

Granger's residence (26-Aug-1991)

After Dan had headed off to the Dental clinic, Jane and Hermione went back upstairs with Harry to take another look at his trunk. Skipping the first two chambers, they headed straight into the third chamber where the library and study was set up at. Everyone was surprised by the number of books that were already in the library, but still at the same time, it looked as if there was room for many more books and scrolls. Hermione ran straight up to the pedestal that held the Master book and tried to open it up. When that failed, she gave a hard look over at Harry. "Harry, your master book won't open for me. What's wrong with it?"

Mrs Granger was somewhat taken back by Hermione's attitude. "Hermione, that's no way to act. This does not belong to you, it belongs to Harry, and it's up to Harry as to what you have access to. Remember that young lady!"

"But mum, look at all this stuff that I could be reading! Think of all the neat stuff there is to find out about. You know how much I love to learn about new things mum, I just have to have access to all of it!"

Mrs Granger looked to where Harry was still standing by the ladder. His head was down and it looked as if he was about to leave the chamber.

"Harry please wait!" Mrs Granger said.

"Why? Now I know why you wanted to adopt me. So your daughter could have access to everything I have."

"No Harry, please don't leave!" she called out again but he was gone. Turning back to Hermione, she looked at her with eyes so cold that Hermione actually started to shiver. "You WILL find that young man NOW and you will apologize to him! We did not ask Harry to be a part of this family just so you could run through HIS library looking at anything you want. DO YOU UNDERSTAND?"

"Yes, mum." Can the quite reply.

"Then why are you still standing there? You have six more chambers to check to find that young man, and you better find him quick. Now go!"

Hermione started running towards the chamber portal as quick as her little legs would carry her.

Chamber four was pretty flat and open being a training room, but she still had to go through the whole area looking in both locker room and all the little hidey holes there were along the way.

Chamber five took the longest time to check. There were so many rooms, bathrooms, closets and such. She had to resist the temptation to look in the mansions library, knowing if she went in there, she might lost again and forget the task her mother had given to her.

Chamber six took a very short time since all the potion and infirmary items were still all put up and tied back so that Hermione could see all around the chamber at one time before heading off to chamber seven.

In chamber seven, Hermione had to stop and take a look around at all the beautiful things that were in there. She was listening to stream that ran through the middle of meadow. As she was looking around, she saw what she hoped was a little boy leaning against one of the trees near where it sounded the stream was running close by. "Harry!" She called out and started to run towards him. For his part, Harry looked up at hearing his name called and just lower his head again and moved around to the side of the tree where he couldn't see Hermione anymore.

"Harry! Please wait! I'm so sorry!" She said as she panted coming around the tree.

"I'm sorry Harry, really I am. I don't know what came over me. Reading has been the only escape I've had in all the time I've been at school. Maybe it's time I tell you a little about me?"

Harry didn't say anything but just shook his head yes and let Hermione sit down in front of him.

"I've always loved to read and to learn. That's been part of my problem in my Primary school. While other children were outside playing children games I would be in the library reading Jane Austin or some other story. I've never had any friends. None of the girls like me because I don't care about the latest fashion trends, or wondering if it's time for them to start wearing makeup or a training bra. The boys don't like me because, will, I'm a girl for the first part, and for the second part, I always do better on my test then they do. It doesn't matter that I finished top in by class, district or region in all my subject, the only people I could share that with was my parents. They were the only one who showed me any love.

"Now I've been brought into a brand new world… A world of magic! A world I have no experience with. I feel like I have a blank piece of paper in front of me and I must write something on it. I've already read all my first year books and have been able to do most of the charms and spells that we will be covering this year. My parents haven't let me do anything with potions because they said they didn't want me to blow up half the house with some stinky caldron cooking on the stove in the kitchen. I'm afraid when I got down in your library this time, something just clicked in me. I wanted to know what ALL the different areas of magic there were to study. I'm sorry I acted the way I did. I don't have any right or expectation for you to share anything with me. I just wasn't thinking when I saw that library again. Will you forgive me?"

Harry didn't say anything for a while. "Hermione, how long have you known you're a witch?"

"About a week before Professor McGonagall took me to Diagon Alley with you."

"And what did you do when you got back from Diagon Alley? Start reading your books?"

"Yes. My parents had to threaten me about the amount of time I was spending with the books. They were pretty excited when I showed them when I showed them I could levitate a book with my wand. And that Lumos spell made it much easier to get around at night when I wanted to read some more after my parents had put me to bed. Why?"

"The first day I met you, Professor McGonagall had just taken me from my former guardian house where I was made to do all the cooking, cleaning, yard work and anything else they could think of while I slept in the cupboard under the stairs with the same mat and baby blanket that had been delivered with me almost ten years ago. The only clothes I received were old clothes my cousin Dudley had worn out, out grown or ripped up beyond repair. That night I went to Professor McGonagall's home for my first meal that I could eat that I didn't have to prepare or clean up after.

"I've never had any friends either. Not because I didn't want any, it was just that if anyone looked like they were going to be friendly with me, my cousin would threaten them or beat me up to keep them away from me. Like I said last night, the last time I spoke to anyone was before my cousin threated to kill me if I said anything about what he did to me. As far as my standing in my Primary class, let's just say that if I did better than my cousin, he would beat me and then I would get another beating when I got home. My uncle and aunt were sure I was using my 'freakiness' so I would do better than Dudley.

"When I got my Hogwarts letter, I thought it was a joke. But then I started thinking how my aunt and uncle kept on treating me. I didn't know what my name was until I entered Primary school. Up until that time I thought my name was 'Freak' or 'Boy'. They never called me 'Harry'.

"While you were here reading your books and eating your meals with kind and loving parents, I was in a hospital having potions shoved down my throat about every half hour and having magical procedures done to me that sometimes made my arms and hands feel like they were being dipped in molten lava. It was painful, it hurt, at times I hated doing it, but I kept doing it and do you know why? Because I had three people who I could feel truly loved me for being me. They were always there to give their love and support. But I knew they couldn't get too close to me. I was the patient, they were the healers. They could care for my body but not my soul. I still hadn't found anybody that could do that. I think Professor McGonagall wants to, but that would be a conflict of interest with her also being the Deputy Headmistress of the school I'll be attending. Then I met you and your parents again. I felt accepted; I could feel the love your parents had for you and hoped they could have some of that same love for me. I hoped you could have some feeling for me too, like a sister or something. That was why I told all of you about the way I was being treated last night.

"When I saw the way you acted today when we went into the library to study, I thought I was seeing the real you. You didn't care about me. You only cared about the things I could do for you. You didn't want to be my friend. You just wanted to use me for your own advancement. Can you understand how I could feel that way Hermione?"

By this time Hermione was a bawling her eyes out. She could see how Harry could have felt the way he did and could not believe she had gone to the point to where she would make another person feel that way.

Still crying, Hermione got up and came over to Harry. Sinking down on her knees, she gave him a tight hug, getting her tears all over his shirt. Harry wasn't sure what he should be doing. Finally he reached up and put his arms around Hermione and gave her a pat on the back.

"I so sorry Harry, I really am. I just can't tell you how sorry I am. I didn't mean to make you feel like that. I would like you to be my friend. I've never had one before, and I know my parents really do want you. Can you please forgive me?"

"I don't know Hermione, I've never been asked to forgive anyone before. I don't know how to do it. Would your mother be able to help me with learning how to do this?"

Shaking her head on his shoulder, Hermione indicated 'Yes'. After a few more moments, she wiped her eyes and nose and asked Harry if he would like to see if they could find her mother.

"I think that would be the best thing for both of us right now Hermione." Putting his arms around her waist, Harry stood up lifting her at the same time.

Making their way out of the trunk, they found Mrs Granger in the den reading the response from Professor McGonagall regarding visiting with them this evening. Looking up she saw that Harry's shirt was very wet on one side where it was obvious Hermione had been crying on him, while her face was blotchy and red from recently crying.

"Is there a problem Hermione?" She asked in a somewhat cold tone.

"Yes mum there is. I've behaved very poorly and have asked for Harry's forgiveness."

"And what does Mr Potter have to say about this?"

"I don't know ma'am. I don't know how to forgive anyone, it's never been taught to me," came Harry's reply.

Jane closed her eyes and cursed the Dursleys for the hell they had put this young man through.

"Forgiveness is being able to let go of bad feeling, feeling of bitterness towards someone or letting go of feeling of anger towards someone. That is not a full description of forgiveness, but let's starts with that. Now, normally there has to be something done prior to someone needing forgiveness. Hermione what do you think that was?"

Hermione couldn't lift her head to look her mother or Harry in the eye when she said, "I took for granted that I could have unlimited access to something that didn't belong to me. I didn't even ask Harry if I could look through his library."

"And Harry, how did that make you feel?"

"I was hurt. I thought your family loved me for me, not because I came with a lot of books for your daughter to read."

"Now Hermione, how do you feel?"

"Remorseful; I wish I would have never do that or acted like that. I didn't think about how Harry would feel about that. I just wanted everything in sight."

"Have you had a chance to talk to Harry about this? What did he have to say?"

"I talked to him and asked him to forgive me of my actions. I promise I won't do it again."

"Harry, what do you have to say about the matter?"

"I understand a little better now why she may have acted that way, but it still hurts."

"I can understand that. I'm very disappointed in the way Hermione acted today in your library, and I think as part of her punishment, she should have some limits placed on her with regards to your library."

Everyone in the room could hear a low "no!" come from Hermione.

"Hermione, this will be one of the fastest ways for you to learn that actions have consequences. You can choose your action, but you cannot choose the consequence!" Mrs Granger replied rather sharply to her only child.

"Harry, I would propose that IF you let Hermione back into your library, she can only have access to one book at a time… (Foot stomp being heard, "mother!"). Hush now young lady, you obviously don't feel sorry enough for what you have done to want to change. We will see if my daughter can control herself when dealing with things that are not hers. Does that sound acceptable to you Mr Potter?"

"How long should the punishment go for Mrs Granger?"

"That will be left up to you. I think as long as it takes my daughter to learn her lesson. I must apologize somewhat for having raised her to where she thinks anything she sees, she can read. It's one area we have fallen down as her parents. It has been the one her only means of escaping the cruel world she has found herself in."

"So Mr Potter, does that punishment meet with your approval?"

Harry turned to Hermione and asked her, "Hermione, will you accept that for you to use my families library, that 1) I must also be in the library when you get or return a book and 2) that you only have access to one book at a time? Two if they are related to the same subject?"

Hermione looked a little mad as she looked at her mother, but softened her look as she turned to Harry. "Yes that will be acceptable Mr Potter, but you better be planning to spend a lot of time in the library!"

Harry couldn't help but smile a little at this remark but said nothing.

Mrs Granger stood up and took both of the children into a hug to let them both know she was proud of them both. "Now isn't that better? Remember dear, Harry just got that trunk from his Grandfather last night. Be grateful that he's willing to share it with you at all. Okay?"

Hermione looked up at her mum and said, "Okay."

"And you Harry; it is still your trunk. If you would like to remove us from the access list while you get to learn more about your family, I would completely understand."

"I don't think that would be necessary ma'am, it will just take time for us all to learn to live together I think"

"Well said Harry. By the way, Professor McGonagall has agreed to come here tonight at 8:00pm to talk about our adopting you, so make sure you and Hermione are out of the library by then."

"Yes ma'am," Harry replied. "Come on Hermione, maybe you can find something to read in that old place."

Granger's residence (Evening of 26-Aug-1991)

The meeting with Professor McGonagall went quite smoothly when discussing the Grangers adopting young Mr Potter. She already had the name of a solicitor that worked both in the magical and mundane world, Mr Ted Tonks Esq. After talking with all the Grangers and Harry for a while, Professor McGonagall asked if she could talk with just the adults for a bit. After Hermione and Harry had left the room, presumably to go back to Harry's library, she brought out her main concerns about the adoption.

"Has Harry told you anything about his heritage in the wizarding world?" She asked the parents.

"Harry hasn't said anything to us about his heritage beyond him being the son of James and Lily Potter. Why?" Came Jane's reply.

"Then he did not tell you he claimed the title of Lord Potter since he is the last living Potter male over the age of eight?"

"No, why?"

"Oh dear, where to start; you know that Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry was built by four friends: Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw and Salazar Slytherin. Before leaving Gringotts, the goblins did an inheritance test to see what titles or lines Harry could claim.

"We had all known that the James Potter, Harry's father, was from the primary cadet line of Godric Gryffindor and Rowena Ravenclaw since their daughter married into the Potter line nearly a thousand years ago, making him also Lord Gryffindor and Lord Ravenclaw. It was not known that his mother was also a descendent of one of the founders. Now, please remember that it had always been thought that his mother, Lily was a mundane-born witch, meaning she was born to two regular mundane parents. It turns out that that was not the case. Lily Rose Potter nee Evans is descended from a squib branch of the Hufflepuff family, the first known magical user to that line for many, many generations, so Harry now becomes Lord Hufflepuff. But beyond that, the inheritance test also showed that when Harry defeated 'He-how-must-no-be-named' as a baby at fifteen months old, he also inherited the title of Lord Slytherin by conquest!

"Still there is more to the young man. The Potter's and the Slytherin's have a common ancestor several generations back, to the family Peverell. Harry can claim a Dukedom from that line. It is only recognized in the wizarding world, but it still holds three seats on governing Wizengamot, or High Wizarding Court.

"Another shock was that his Godfather, Sirius Black preformed a blood adoption on young Mr Potter while he was still a baby making him the heir presumptive to House Black should something happen to him before he has any children of his own, which is very unlikely."

"Why not?"

"Sirius Black is currently being held in Azkaban Prison for betraying the Potters to He-how-must-no-be-named'. There is very little chance that he will ever see the light of day as a free man. According to the goblins he is being held there illegally since they can find no record of him being charged or having a trial. This is being worked looked at in Gringotts legal department."

"That poor boy; is there more you need to tell us about him?"

"Oh yes, and this is where it gets even more interesting. Mr Potter's magic was powerful enough so that the inheritance test was able to go further back to where the College of Arms can now provide documented proof that Mr Potter is also the blood heir of Myrddin Emrys and Morgan le Fay."

"I've heard of the witch Morgan le Fay, but who is Myrddin Emrys?"

"You may know him by his more common name, Merlin."

"Oh."

"Yes, oh! This connection must have come through the Evans line since no one can remember the last time there was an heir of Merlin.

"As a result of this and other smaller houses that Mr Potter could claim he is a Lord seven times over and a Duke two times over. The goblins at Gringotts are in the process of opening the oldest nine vaults in the catacombs of their bank. The first two, the goblins don't even have record of when the ones thought to belong to Merlin and le Fay where last opened. There are three vaults that belong to the Peverell's, one for each of the brothers. The other four vaults are from the founders of Hogwarts."

"Why haven't the founder's vaults been open before now?" Dan asked.

"It would appear the founders set up their vaults so that an heir from each line had to be present before anyone could open their vault. It was hoped that there would always be an heir of the founders watching over Hogwarts."

"I take it that didn't happen?"

"No, it didn't. The history isn't too clear on the facts, but it would appear that sometime after the school was opened, there was a falling out between the founders as to just who they should teach. Tradition holds that Godric, Rowena, and Helga wished to train all magic users regardless of their background or blood status. It is said that Salazar only wanted to teach the pure-bloods an after nearly seventy-five years of arguing and debating had a falling out with the others. The fall-out was so bad that it is said to have come to blows between Godric and Salazar, who up until that point had been all but blood brothers.

"The main reason I'm telling you this is because Harry is in fact an emancipated minor. He has more land and money than anyone would ever be able to use, and he will be a very vulnerable target for lot of witches and wizards who would want to control him and use him for their own gain. Just how rich is he? Not even the goblins know. They currently have five teams of accountants working to classify and tabulate everything he has. They have given themselves a target date of 21-Dec of this year to have the preliminary accounting done. Frankly, I don't think that's going to be enough time.

"Lord Potter has only openly claimed the Potter line, even though he has been installed as the heads of all the other lines. It is vital that Headmaster Dumbledore or one of 'He-how-must-no-be-named' follower do not find out about this. Unfortunately there is a skill called Legilimency that allows a person to read the thoughts of another person. If you would allow me, I would like to place a block on this information that I have just told you about Lord Potter to where the normal legilimens would not be about to pick this information out of your mind. I would also suggest you continue to refer to Mr Potter as 'Harry' and not Lord Potter. If you would like I could also get you in touch with Mr Tonks to begin the adoption process. He knows to keep thing quite. We do not want our illustrious Headmaster getting in the way off this now do we?"

After a few more minutes of talking over different items such as reminding the Grangers how to get into Platform nine and three quarters, Professor McGonagall left for the evening.

The remaining five days at the Grangers were very eye opening. After reading the operational manual for the rites and ritual chamber number eight, Harry, Hermione, along with her parents decided to see just what they could do in what they had come to call the 'Time Chamber'. This was also when one of the first 'moral' conflicts between Harry and Hermione occurred.

After getting everybody down to chamber eight, Harry called out: "Sassy?"

'Pop'. "Yes Master Harry, what can Sassy do for you today?"

"I'd like to have the time chamber set to have four people in it for a total of twenty-four hours 'inside time'. Could you please get whatever food, housing and other supplies we will need for that time and let me know?"

"Yes Master Harry I's can be doing that. I's will be getting everything set up for you shortly." 'Pop'.

"Harry?"

"Yes Hermione?"

"What was that?"

"Oh, that was Sassy." Harry answered tentatively.

"No Harry, I asked, _what_ was that?"

"Oh, that was one of the Potter family house elves."

"And just what is a house elf?"

"They are a group of magical people that help other magic people get things done."

"Do you pay these 'magical people' to help you get things done?"

"I really don't know Hermione. Mr Cave just recommended that I get at least on house elf that is already bonded to house Potter to help me with learning more about my family and to help me keep this trunk clean. Apparently there are quite a few elves that have bonded to the House of Potter, and you must admit, the trunk is fairly large you know."

"BONDED! Do you own slaves Harry James Potter?"

"Settle down Hermione. I don't view Sassy as a slave; I view her as a friend."

"But she's BONDED! She doesn't have any free-will as to what she wants to do!"

"Why don't we ask her how she feels about it when she gets back with everything we need for our little experiment? Okay?"

"Fine! But if she's a slave, I'll never like you Harry James Potter."

It was just a few minutes before Sassy was back and had pitched what looked like a six person tent in one corner of the chamber. In another part of the chamber was placed a reading area and yet another place where the family could play games while they were in the time chamber.

"Sassy, could you please come here? Hermione has a few questions for you."

Hermione gave Harry a dirty look, making him just take a step back and put Sassy between him and her.

"Sassy, just what are you?"

"I is a house elf bonded to the great house of Potter."

"What do you mean you are bonded? Are you like a slave working for the Potters?"

"Oh no miss, we isn't slaves we are the ones whos helps out the Potters and does whatever they askes us to do."

"But isn't that like being a slave? Do they pay you? Can you do whatever you'd like to do?"

"Oh we's not getting paid! We's good elves. The Potters have lots of lands and houses that we's can all be working in and keeping clean."

Seeing that Hermione was about to fly off the handle, Harry stepped in. "Hermione, we have one of the largest magical libraries available to us her in this trunk. Why don't we take some time once we find out just how this time chamber works and maybe we can find out the relationships between the house-elves and the rest of the magical world. How does that sound?"

Hermione wasn't too happy with the idea, but the fact they would be getting back to answering this question was fine with her.

The first experiment with the time chamber was a smashing success. The six-man tent Sassy set up turned out to be a small house about the same size and layout as the Grangers original home, so they had all the comforts of home without really leaving anything behind. The one thing that Dan did complain about was that he couldn't watch any of his sports channels, or listen to the radio while he was in here.

Harry and the Grangers agreed that they would only use the time chamber when at least one of the parents could be with them. This ended up meaning that they would split the amount of time they would spend in the time chamber into two parts, four hours in the morning (five days inside time where they would be monitored by Jane) and four hours in the afternoon or evening (five more days inside, where they would be monitored by Dan). This would give the other adult time to do whatever errands they had to run in either the morning or afternoon and still have plenty of time to be with the children.

This gave Harry and Hermione an additional fifteen days to study and prepare for Hogwarts. One of the nice things they found out is that they could bring different thing that were in the trunk, inside the time chamber. For example, Harry could bring in the Master Index book and carts from the library in the third chamber and include them in the time chamber when they stated it up. Also, Harry could bring in some of the Power Meter Target traps and other training tools to where he could improve his spell casting abilities.

By 01-Sep, Harry and Hermione were ready to go to Hogwarts, and to be frank, Dan and Jane were also pleased to see them go.

Hermione wanted to continue with her studying in the time chamber in Harry's trunk, but he had to remind her that the trunk would be in the middle of the boy's dorms. He didn't think it would be a very good idea to see Hermione coming in and out of Harry's trunk at all hours of the day and night. Harry did promise her that he would try and find some way where they could still use the trunk's time chamber, probably over the weekends so they could get in twenty days' worth of studying. That should be enough to keep them on track.

Reluctantly Hermione agreed, and set about packing her own trunk for the trip to Hogwarts tomorrow.


	11. Chapter 11 – We're off to see the Wizard

Harry Potter: A Life before Hogwarts

Chapter 11 – We're off to see the Wizard (01-Sep-1991)

To say Harry and Hermione were excited to go to Hogwarts would be an understatement. It was some of the people there they could wait to see; Headmaster Dumbledore and Professor Snape come to mind.

During the last few extended day's at the Grangers, Harry has just started getting comfortable talking to Hermione, though he still finds it easier talking to adults than children.

Getting to the station early, Harry and Hermione were able to bring Dan and Jane on to the platform by letting them hold on to their shoulders as they walked through the wall between platforms nine and ten. The gleaming red and black engine of the Hogwarts Express was really something to look at. After walking around the platform for a while and storing their trunks in one of the cars in the back of the train, the Grangers and Harry came back out to give Dan and Jane another hug, and helped them go back out through the portal back to the main lobby of Kings Cross.

Returning to their car, both Harry and Hermione got into their robes and got a book out to read. For Hermione it was the Standard Book of Spells Level 4. For Harry it was a thick tomb from the College of Arms, where he could get more acquainted with who was who in the magical world. Of course the tomb looked more like a mundane book called 'A Brief History of Time' by Stephen Hawking. That ought to keep the other people from wanting to look at it.

The hardly noticed as the platform started to get busier and busier as the wizarding parents came together to see they young sons or daughter's off for another year at Hogwarts. Harry and Hermione didn't notice that they were out there, nor did anyone try to interrupt them in their reading. Before they knew it, it was 11:00, the train whistle sounded and the Hogwarts Express started heading out of the station. If Harry or Hermione would have been looking they would have seen a group of four red headed children all running for the train, carrying their trunks and cages jumping from the platform to make it on to the train. Most of the red-headed children went right to one of the cabins in the rail can and sat with their friends, it was only the youngest of the brothers that kept on walking up and down the length of all the cars as if looking for someone.

Flashback Previously at Hogwarts:

 _Headmaster Dumbledore was more than just a little upset. When he has sent Hagrid to get Harry Potter to introduce him into the wizarding world, from the Dursleys, he could not be found. He called in his Deputy Headmistress to see if she could shine a little light on the situation._

" _Minerva, do you know why Mr Potter is not at his family's home?"_

" _I told you Headmaster; I took Mr Potter away from those awful people and took him to his 'Loco Parentis'. Those animals are no more young Mr Potter's family than a mountain troll is. I have been made assured that Mr Potter will be on the Hogwarts Express and will be here to start his magical education."_

" _Minerva, that's not good enough. I NEED to know where Harry Potter is and who his 'Loco Parentis' is. I MUST have control of Harry for the greater good!"_

" _The 'Greater Good' Albus? What about what's good for Harry?"_

" _I'm sorry Minerva, you just can't see the big picture like I can when it comes to Harry and the part he plays in freeing the wizarding world from the terror of Voldemort."_

" _What are you talking about Albus? 'He-who-must-not-be-named' has been dead for ten years now. What does that have anything to do with Harry or the wizarding world?"_

" _I'm afraid I can't tell you that Minerva, but there are some very good signs that point to the fact that Voldemort may not in fact be completely dead, just mostly dead which is to say a little alive."_

" _I don't understand what you're talking about Albus, but I will warn you that you will leave Harry Potter alone. You are his Headmaster, NOT his 'Loco Parentis'. If you want to talk to Mr Potter about anything school related, I will come with him as his head of house. If you have something other than school related, you must first get permission from the 'Loco Parentis'."_

" _But how can I do that when I don't know who they are Minerva?"  
_

" _Exactly Albus, you're not supposed to talk to Mr Potter about anything other than school related item. Now just leave him be or I will have to get the DMLE involved with your interference in Mr Potter's life!" With that, Minerva leaves the Headmaster's office to finish getting ready for the students to arrive in just a few hours._

' _Oh Minerva, if you only knew that even as we speak, Voldemort has found a host to bring him into the castle. That is why I must be the one to guide young Harry. Only I can prepare him for the last great confrontation that will inevitably come.'_

 _End of Flashback_

Hogsmeade Station

(Announcement heard throughout the train)

"All students will please leave their trunks and pets on the train. They will be transported to the castle for you. All first year students please report to Rubeus Hagrid, Keeper of the Keys and Grounds of Hogwarts. He will be aiding you in getting to Hogwarts."

"First years! All First years over here!" Came the booming voice of the largest man either of the children had ever seen.

End

A/N – This is not where I wanted the story to end – just the background. But this is also when I ran into problems. The story was about 8500 words too short for the NaNoWriMo contest and I just couldn't regurgitate the first three years of Hogwarts as thousands of other authors have done before. I may, in the future, come back and do a sequel to this story, but real life is putting more pressure on my time.

I hope you have enjoyed the story.

rdgale


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